


Appeal to My Humanity - The Immortal Journey

by JessiokaFroka



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 17:59:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 62,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1194363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessiokaFroka/pseuds/JessiokaFroka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Second installment of 'Appeal to My Humanity'. Darcy and Loki enjoy their newly-engaged status until they are torn apart. Tasertricks. COMPLETE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd.

 

Prologue

The sentries trudged down the muddy, rocky mountainside together, keeping a sharp eye out for their target. The partially-repaired Rainbow Bridge and Heimdall's half-finished golden observatory glinted off in the distance when the morning sunlight hit it at the right angle. Their silver armor shined brilliantly in the morning sun, belying the fact that there were no dents or gashes in their perfect ensembles. The sentries had no fear, though; although they were inexperienced, this was a simple mission. They would be back to the castle before breakfast.

“See anything?” the lighter one asked.

“Not yet. Heimdall said it was at the bottom,” replied the darker of the two.

“Pray, did you spy the wench Loki swiped for himself? I must learn to trick as well as he if that is what it takes to get such a pretty creature to wear my ring. Or merely lower my standards and pick _any_ Midgardian!” the lighter one said and the pair roared with laughter.

“Yes, well, our liesmith prince was always good at getting what he-”

The darker one stopped as did his friend. They rounded a blind corner just in time to find a large, dark-haired, muscled man loading a purple titan's body onto a large silver metal pad that could easily carry the body along with several others. The guards gaped for only a moment, both trying to quickly remember their full training.

“I demand that you cease at once,” the dark sentry ordered, his voice wavering slightly. He drew his pristine sword and took a defensive stance as he had been taught, his partner following suit. The stranger did not slow in the slightest.

“By order of King Thor we are to deliver the body of the Mad Titan, Thanos, to-” started the lighter one but he was cut off – literally. A disembodied sword that had positioned itself in the air behind him separated the Asgardian's head from his shoulders, eliciting a gasp from the other sentry.

“We didn't expect you,” a light voice came from the shadows. At first the sentry could only see a green boot, but it slipped easily from the shadow to reveal the most beautiful blonde aesir the Asgardian had ever seen. Her amused and arrogant face was framed by a green headpiece that held back her mass of golden locks and artfully came down the sides of her face. She regarded him for a moment, and after that moment she let an elegant shrug fall from her shoulder.

“There was bound to be a casualty or two,” she said, and with a flick of her wrist the other sentry was out of the picture as well, his headless body falling with a heavy thud next to the other.

“It is done, mistress,” the large man said after securing Thanos's body to the silver transport pad and stood to await her next command. She stood stock still, her dark green cloak billowing around her frame while she regarded the prize she came for.

“Still breathing. Excellent. We must away,” she said, and with a wave of her hand the silver transport pad floated easily up and disappeared along with the mysterious pair.

No one found the sentries' bodies until the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd.

“Shit.”

Nick Fury, Jane Foster, and the Avengers watched the portal to Asgard close directly behind Loki and Darcy and the image of Asgard faded. Nick Fury's curse was followed by silence while Jane tried to wrap her head around what she just witnessed. The portal generator powered off with a great heave and all in the room heard a grinding noise; the metal on metal produced a high-pitched squeal that grated on their ears.

“What the hell happened Stark?” Fury asked. The portal generator seized once and was finally silent.

“I have no idea,” said Tony. He, Jane Foster, and Bruce Banner began tinkering with the portal generator. Steve Rogers took a seat and watched while the team worked and Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov both nodded once to Nick Fury and left the room.

“With those flickering lights I'd say the power source shorted out,” said Bruce.

“It shouldn't have,” said Tony, his eyes transfixed on a piece of machinery in his hand.

Jane sighed and threw her hands up in the air. She stepped away from the machine and sat down next to Steve Rogers with her heads in her hands while she thought. Her head was spinning. This couldn't actually be happening. Steve hesitated for a moment and patted her twice on the back while Fury simply stood and watched Stark's progress.

Tony looked up from the metal hunk in his hand, stood, and crossed the room to grab a piece of paper that was covered back and front with furious scribbles. He stared down at the paper disbelievingly and back at the portal generator several times before approaching the portal generator once more and crouching behind it, the clink and clang of gears and metal being rearranged filling the room.

“Here we go,” said the voice of Tony from behind the generator and a moment later he popped back up, a look of awe and confusion mixed on his face. Jane's head snapped up in the fleeting hope that the solution would be so quick and simple.

“What is it?” asked Bruce and Jane in unison.

“This little guy,” said Tony and he held up a small piece of metal that looked like a piece of pipe with two large holes on either end. “It looks like we're going to need two arc reactors.”

“Two,” repeated Fury. Bruce and Jane's faces both showed exasperation but hope. Everyone's nerves had been stretched and news that they would have to wait for Stark to make an entirely new arc reactor was not happy news.

“Yep. Two of them. I'm also gonna need to build a capacitor bridge and an energy flow regulator to sustain the constant power that'll flow between the two machines,” said Tony. Bruce joined him in inspecting he piece of metal in Tony's hand with a quiet curiosity.

“And that will sustain the power we need so that we should be able to turn this thing on and off at will?” Fury asked with a hint of hopeful suspicion peppering his question.

“Yes,” said Jane whose mumbled voice came from his side. Her face was tear-streaked and pale. She was mad at the damn machine, she was mad that she had worked so long for _this_ to have happened, and finally she was mad at herself for crying over something that could definitely be fixed.

“Cap,” said Fury, “Why don't you take Dr. Foster home?”

“We'll start on this right away, Jane. We'll have this baby up and running in no time,” said Bruce.

“Stay with her, Cap,” said Fury lowly so that Jane would not hear him.

Jane nodded and allowed Steve to escort her from the room.

“Is there anything I can do Dr. Foster?” asked Steve.

“No.”

They walked in silence through the building and Steve helped Jane into the passenger's seat of his car. Jane watched out the window as the rain splattered against it, numbly registering their path through the city to Jane's house. The walk from the car to the door seemed instantaneous and the next thing Jane knew she was in her bed, fully, clothed, and listening to Steve putter about in her house. She did not know how many hours she lay there listening to the rain fall in random patterns against the roof of the house. She was too tired to think about anything but at the same time her mind wouldn't stop racing. Jane's eyes drifted closed without her knowledge and she slept the hard sleep of the defeated.

Jane awoke with a start to find that the light from her window had darkened completely. She looked around the room dazed and confused until suddenly memory crashed around her like so many violent waves.

She had been so close.

She researched for two years and was standing right in front of Earth's _first confirmed artificial Einstein Rosenbridge_ when it closed. Right in front of her. She was close enough to reach out and touch it and suddenly it was gone. Then there was what she had seen through the portal generator: there was a large golden-clad dead man right at the edge of a glittering rainbow glass floor that seemed to be suspended in the middle of space itself. The panic of what might have happened to him was setting in – was Thor all right? Was Asgard under attack? Was there anything Jane could do even if it was?

Jane arose from her bed and felt the dull, throbbing pain that signified the beginning of a killer migraine. She trudged onward anyway to the bathroom and then to kitchen, where she jumped in shock at the unexpected sight of Steve Rogers sitting at her table reading her childhood copy of _A Brief History of Time_.

“How are you feeling, Dr. Foster?” said Steve and he lowered his book.

“Groggy,” replied Jane. She sat across from him at the table and blinked rapidly a few times in a vain effort to expedite the extent of her wakefulness, “And please, call me Jane.”

“I'll make you some coffee,” said Steve as he stood. He made her a cup quickly and brought it to her in record time, and Jane was thankful to have the hot cup in her hands.

“Thanks Steve. That was fast; seems like you've pretty much got everything from the 21st century down.”

“No problem, ma'am. I'm not sure how it happened but coffee makers seem to have actually become _more_ complicated since the 40's. I studied that one for a while while you were resting,” said Steve and he took his seat again.

“That's so sweet, Steve. You didn't have to do that,” said Jane and she paused. “Speaking of things you don't have to do, you definitely don't need to babysit me. I'm fine.”

“I've got my orders, ma'am. Now I'll stay out of your way but I'm posting up here with you.”

“Well, thanks for that.”

The two sat in an awkward silence and Jane realized that she hardly knew anything about Steve Rogers other than what she had read or heard second-hand. This was the first time she really had an opportunity to talk with him.

“Do you like it here?” she asked.

Steve thought for a moment. “Absolutely. You have a lovely home.”  
Jane let out a snort that some could consider to be laughter. “Not my house, Steve. This time. This world. Are things better here than they were for you back in your time?”

“It's hard to say. Back in my time I had my family and my old friends. Everything was familiar. In this time I almost feel like I'm learning something brand new every day. On the other hand, though, a lot of things have changed for the better. People in general are treated better and are treating one another better, at least in broad daylight. A lot of types of hatred and discrimination aren't accepted anymore, which is how it should have been from the beginning. And don't even get me started on the technology – electric safety shavers are a marvel,” said Steve.

Jane gave a small smile while she stared into her coffee.

“Are you feeling okay Jane?”

Jane thought before she spoke, dragging out the silence for one long moment.

“Not really, no. I thought that I was going to go to Asgard today, Steve. I really did. I was excited to see Thor and I was even more excited to see the fruit of my research. I wanted to experience it... I've worked toward this for so many years. I feel like I'm being a big baby over having to wait a couple of more days and I know Tony and Bruce are fixing the power source right now, but I guess I just didn't realize that I was so wound up waiting for it to finally happen,” said Jane.

Steve sighed. “Well, like you said, Tony and Bruce will have the arc reactors up and running in a few days and we'll all head to Asgard. I'm sure Thor is excited to see you, too, Jane. We'll all be there soon enough.”

“Yeah, I guess you're right. I think my aim at this point is to just remain unconscious until then,” Jane said and smiled, then added, “I kind of wonder what Darcy's doing right now.”

Steve gave her a smile in response.

Jane fished through her purse and pulled out a bottle of Excedrin Migraine. After twisting off the cap and washing down a pill with a swig of coffee, she let him know that she was going back to bed.

“Well I'll be here if you need anything,” said Steve.

“Make yourself comfortable,” called Jane from her room. Within a few minutes she was asleep again and Steve began to read once more to the symphony of rainfall on the windows.

x

X

x

Darcy Lewis awoke in a warm mass of twisted bedsheets. After a deliciously slow and languid stretch she rolled to her side, propped her head on her elbow, and poked the prince of Asgard in the face.

“Is it really going to be an eternity of this?” Loki mumbled.

“Yep.”

“Good.”

Loki snaked an arm around his fiancee's waist and pulled her on top of him, eliciting a giggle of surprised delight from her. She lowered her lips to his, relishing in the quiet moment together.

“Did you sleep well?” Loki asked and Darcy flopped off of him and nestled into his side, cuddling into the groove of his body.

“In a bed more massive than a California King, in a bedroom the size of a house, in an ocean full of blankets, next to you? Yeah, I'd say I slept pretty well,” she said.

Loki smiled. “What are we doing today?” he asked.

Darcy closed her eyes and groaned.

“Your mom is kind of on my case about wedding planning,” she admitted, “she's pretty... persistent.”

Loki snorted at her accurate assessment of his queenly mother. With a flick of his lazy wrist the curtains were drawn back, letting the gentle rays of the Asgardian morning sun into the room. They cast a rich golden glow about the ornate chambers, highlighting the gold crown molding and lavish tapestries that adorned the quarters. The lovers squinted and closed their eyes to allow themselves time to adjust.

“Do you not wish to plan our wedding? Does the thought of marriage to me repel you so?” Loki asked jokingly.

“It's not that, it's just boring as hell. We had weddings back home, you know? And I'm on an alien planet! There is so much stuff here that's new to me and I've seen approximately zero percent of it in the four weeks I've been here. I'm excited for our wedding – I am, really, - but I want to explore a bit and see some cool Asgardian stuff,” she sighed. Her fingers fiddled with one another while Loki played with a lock of her hair. “I have an idea,” she said.

“Hmm?”

“How about _you_ plan our wedding! You'll get to spend time with your mom and I know you're dying to delve into the world of seating arrangements,” Darcy said.

Loki grinned at her. “I think not.”

Darcy smiled back at him but let out a sigh. “I promise to start wedding planning today if you promise to take me somewhere outside of the castle this week.”

“Darcy, I do not wish to hold you prisoner here but remaining inside the castle is for your own protection. Asgardians would think nothing of a bilgesnipe bite but to a mortal it is deadly within minutes. I cannot bear to lose you, my love. Not again,” he said. He buried his face into her hair.

She tasted his words for a moment. Her mind danced back to the memory of being skewered by Thanos's icy sword. She took a deep breath before speaking again. “Ever since Thor disbursed all of the Infinity Gems back out into the universe you've been acting like my mom. I know I don't have the Time Gem to protect me anymore, but I have to _live_ , Loki. Which brings me to the elephant in the room,” she started. Loki gave a quizzical look at the curious turn of phrase, but Darcy pressed on. “How do we deal with out little... incompatibility? I can't stay locked in a tower forever and it's not like I'm getting any less human over here, O Immortal One.”

Loki regarded her while a quirk tugged at his lips.

“What?” she asked at his amused look.

“How much do you know about weddings?”

“I just kind of figured that they're like Earth weddings, I guess,” she said, and thought for a moment. “Well actually, not all Earth weddings are the same now that I think about it,” she said. Loki smiled.

“Asgardian weddings are very much like the weddings I would catch a glimpse of on the television back on Midgard, with one glaring difference. The pair seals their vows with a bite from one of Idun's golden apples. In a normal Asgardian wedding it is more symbolic than anything – it signifies renewal of life in the couple to ensure that their marriage will last until the next harvest. This is why it is considered to only be symbolic – both participants of a wedding here are usually already aesir. When you take a bite you will become as indestructible as the rest of us, and you shall partake in the apples every year after to ensure that your life continues,” he said.

Darcy was lost in thought. Immortality? Was it something she actually wanted?

“Can I die after I've had an apple?” she asked finally.

“Oh yes. Just don't partake for one harvest and you will find that you wound more easily over time. You'll even fall ill,” Loki said with a hint of a smile.

“Yes, that sounds highly amusing,” she said, “but as long as I'm not forced to live forever and ever that's OK. The idea of existing _forever_ is horrifying, actually. When were you planning on telling me this?”

“When you asked.”

Darcy let out an exasperated sigh. “I fully expect to go somewhere outside of the castle _soon_ ,” she said, untangling herself from his embrace and raising herself to a sitting position on the edge of the massive bed. The think, soft comforter fell to her waist and she held the thin sheet around her bare form.

“Where do you think you're going?” Loki asked, and with a sly grin he pulled her back to him. She allowed herself to be seized, laying back on his chest with a contended smile.

“It'll always be like this,” Darcy said. Loki kissed the top of her head and stared into nothingness, absentmindedly rubbing one of her arms slowly.

“I hope so,” he replied finally.

Silent seconds turned to minutes and silent minutes turned into hours. By the time the pair awoke again the sun was high in the sky. Darcy kissed Loki goodbye before silently slipping on her clothing and making her way back to her own chambers. While the two of them sleeping together did not appear to be frowned upon, she wasn't taking any chances and did not want to end up on the queen's bad side. Although Frigga seemed laid back and even downright cool sometimes, Darcy was still getting a feel for her future mother-in-law's personality.

Darcy opened the door to her room to find that the curtains were drawn back already by one of her assigned chambermaids and her clothes were laid out for her. Today's dress was a white chiffon dream with artful gold swirls for trim at the top. It allowed for one bare arm and one fully-sleeved arm with the same golden trim at the cuff. A single layer of sheer fabric showed off her legs while maintaining an air of modesty. A matching gold headpiece with the same gold swirls sat atop the dress, looking up at her with all the quiet curiosity a headpiece could have, really.

Darcy ignored the garment and crossed the room to the magnificent bathtub by the large, open window. Her room was at the top of one of Castle Asgard's tallest towers so she did not fear unwelcome eyes and she loved the view of the misty waterfall that trickled down one of Asgard's tallest mountains. Darcy submerged herself in the bath that had been drawn for her hours ago. No one could explain to her clearly why the water didn't get cold (and she didn't care, really, as long as the water continued to stay warm), and she was all but used to the small daily miracles in this realm by now.

She swirled a lazy hand in the water and pondered her predicament. How the hell did she end up _here_? Two years ago Darcy Lewis would have laughed in your face if you had told her that she would be engaged by now. Throw in an alien prince and quasi-immortality and forget about it. She wouldn't call it a dream come true by any means – exciting yes, but not quite dreamlike. However, there was perfection in her life's flawed puzzle pieces: her conflicted fiance was passionate, brilliant, and headstrong; her friends were loyal, intelligent, and always game for a laugh.

And she was going to be a princess.

“Fucking gag,” she murmured aloud, allowing her head to dip below the water. Princess was never her goal and it looked like it was going to be even more difficult than she thought. Darcy was coming to find that even a princess-in-training has endlessly busy days with hardly a moment alone. She came up for air and opened her eyes, screaming at the sight of her chambermaid who had appeared at the foot of the bathtub.

“Hair time?” Darcy asked after breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yes, my lady. Hair time,” the maid replied.

“Ooh, sassy today,” Darcy said, allowing herself to be helped from the water. “How's your morning going, Inga?”

“Wondrously, my lady; I get to serve you,” she said, running a towel through Darcy's brown mane.

“You know, I can never tell if you're being extremely nice or deliciously sarcastic, Inga,” Darcy said. She was led to she short-backed chair in front of an enormous golden vanity. Inga gave her a kindly smile from the mirror while Inga ran her hands through Darcy's hair, using a light heating spell to dry her wet locks. Darcy closed her eyes and let Inga work her magic. This was definitely one of the perks of being almost-royalty even though being camera-ready every single day was becoming tiresome.

When her hair was styled and she was dressed, she headed back to Loki's chambers to find that he was already gone. She made her way to the dining hall and found Thor and Loki seated together at the table sharing a rare laugh.

“Hey dude,” Darcy said. Both brothers rose from their chairs and waited for Darcy to be seated before sitting back down themselves. Darcy rolled her eyes at the ridiculous propriety.

“Lady Darcy, Asgardian fashion suits you. I trust this morning finds you well,” said Thor. He was working on monstrous plate of eggs, sausage, bacon, and some other kind of meat that Darcy couldn't identify.

“Yep, can't complain,” she said, leaning over to see what Loki had chosen for his morning meal. Fruit and something that looked like oatmeal. She decided to try it and motioned for a servant to come take her order. After the servant left to go fetch Darcy's breakfast, she turned back to the brothers.

“I don't know how you two ever got used to this. Isn't it weird having people wait on you hand and foot?” she asked.

Thor gave a happy shrug. “We are used to it, Lady Darcy. We grew up here. And when you become Princess of Asgard you will have so much to fill your days you will find that our wonderful servants will become a welcome sight indeed.”  
“Speaking of filling my days,” she replied, noting that Loki's eyes darted to her and he stopped chewing, “I would love to spend _today_ exploring your city, or maybe a lake or something? The castle is nice and all, but I'd like to see more.”

“That's a wonderful idea, Lady Darcy. I shall send for the horses at once,” Thor agreed, motioning for a servant to come to him.

“No,” said Loki. The smile on Thor's face froze.

“Brother, you cannot keep her in here fore-”

“I don't intend to, brother,” Loki spat, “But she cannot be outside the palace walls before we are married. Without the proper protection _anything_ could kill her.”

Darcy and Thor exchanged a knowing glance.

“So with the proper protection you wouldn't have a problem with me going out?” asked Darcy.

“Well yes, but-”  
“Then it is settled!” Thor said with a hearty grin. “You and I shall accompany Lady Darcy to the Flagsylph Forest when we are done dining.”  
“Ooh, the Flagsylph Forest! Sounds fancy,” Darcy said. The servant set her breakfast before her and she thanked him before she dug in.

Loki was silent for only a moment.

“The forest would be an acceptable location and you and I can hold our own there,” Loki said, and continued before Thor or Darcy could interrupt, “but we need more hands and eyes to aid us. We shall also bring Lady Sif and the warriors-three.”

Darcy smiled through a bite of something that looked like a lemon but tasted like kiwifruit.

“Sweet! Thanks babe,” said Darcy.

“Why do I feel as though you would have gone regardless?” he asked, leaning over for a kiss.

“Because I would have,” said Darcy, giving him a quick peck before returning to her meal.

The trio finished dining and Darcy was headed back to her chambers with Loki on her arm when they met Queen Frigga in the hallway.

“Mother,” Loki greeted.

“Loki, Lady Darcy,” Frigga said, “I have arranged for the florist to see us today.”

Darcy opened her mouth to respond but Loki beat her to it.

“Darcy and I shall join Thor, Sif, and the warriors-three on an outing to the Flagsylph Forest this morning. Might the florist wait for later this afternoon?”

The queen took a moment to register what she had heard. “Am I hearing that you and _your brother_ are taking Lady Darcy _outside_ of the palace? Of course the florist can wait,” said Frigga and she smiled kindly at her son and his future wife.

“I'm looking forward to this afternoon with you, Frigga,” Darcy said with a smile that was not as forced as she had anticipated.

“And I as well. Enjoy yourselves today.”  
Loki and Darcy continued toward their rooms and parted ways in the hallway. The wide double doors to Darcy's chambers were already open and appropriate clothing for her trip to the forest was laid out on her bed.

“This place is like Hogwarts,” she said to herself, closing the doors and quickly getting dressed. A few minutes later she met Loki in the hallway and together they made their way to the stables, ignoring the shifting eyes from the palace residents and servants between Loki's head and down to hers along the way. It was a big difference between Darcy's short stature and Loki's tall one. Darcy was already used to the average Asgardian's height, but they were not at all used to hers yet. That paired with her hand entwined with Evil Prince Loki's drew more attention than Darcy was used to, but she was growing accustomed to it.

Thor, Sif, and the warriors-three awaited them when they reached the stables. Loki helped her onto her horse, a jet-black mare that Darcy named Domino for the white spot in the middle of her forehead. Sif and the warriors-three rode in the front, Thor and Loki took up the rear, and Darcy stayed somewhat in the middle, quickening and lagging at random intervals. Domino was not yet used to the princess-to-be.

They rode slowly through the city to get to the forest and Darcy did not mind the leisurely pace at all. The city alone was beautiful and curious, and its citizens came out of their homes to see the royalty and royalty-to-be ride by. Their homes were small and clean, and the roads in this part of the city were paved with a kind of glittering cobblestone. Darcy was so distracted by all of the new sights that she almost did not notice that the homes were getting fewer and farther between, and the cobblestone road had ended.

Darcy looked around to find that sparse trees had taken the place of the cityscape, and she could see that the trees were thicker further down the beaten trail. The trees themselves were enormous, comparable to a California Redwood. The colors of their leaves were brilliant and complemented the stark white of the papery bark on their trunks. Pinks, blues, and yellows adorned the foliage of the Flagsylph Forest and Darcy breathed out a sigh of awe.

“A sight to behold, is it not? Fandral said, pulling his steed next to hers.

“It's pretty. I've never seen these kinds of colors on trees.”

“Asgard's autumn is a bit different from Midgard's but your basic principle of the changing seasons is the same,” Sif called behind her back.

“Loki and I know every part of this forest, Lady Darcy. We spent whole summers hiding in the trees and pretending to fight Jotuns,” Thor reminisced. Loki shot him a hard look that Darcy missed completely.

“Indeed. The princes spent much time here, as did we,” Sif explained, motioning to the warriors-three. “I learned the ways of the sword with the boys in these very clearings. Always in secret, though,” she added.

“You know I've never understood that, Sif,” said Darcy. She rode faster to catch up to the warrior.

“Understood what, Lady Darcy?”

“Why you guys are called 'Lady Sif and the Warriors-Three'. Why aren't you guys just called 'The Warriors-Four?”

“Because apparently this realm has not quite caught up with yours in the area of gender equality. To the citizens of Asgard I will always be a female first, and an odd warrior second,” Sif said, ignoring a snort from Fandral.

“That is not true, Sif,” Volstagg said.

“Is so.”  
“Is not.”  
“Sif, you are a fine warrior. A great many of our army look up to you and respect you for your fierceness. They think you too beautiful to tell you to that your face,” Hogun interjected. Darcy had forgotten he was there, the warrior was usually as silent as glassy waters. Sif said nothing.

“Yeah, well, I'm calling you guys the Warriors-Four from now on, so there,” said Darcy.

Volstagg changed the subject and began explaining the flora and fauna of the forest to Darcy as new things popped up that she remarked upon. She learned that a rabbit with three ears is called a Pannjack, but one with four ears is called dinner.

“Poisonous as a serpent, those three-eared ones,” Volstagg told her, “Almost lost my arm to one.”

They reached a large clearing and the Asgardians dismounted at once. Darcy looked around, slightly confused about why they had stopped so suddenly, and took Loki's hand when he offered it to help her down. She definitely needed the help.

“What are we doing?” Darcy asked.

“Sword fighting,” Loki said. “It's how we passed the time when we were young.

“It's how _we_ passed the time when we were young. Our silver-tongued prince spent his time off in a corner, practicing his sorcery,” Fandral said.

The group laughed, and even Loki let out a quiet hint of laughter.

“And it has served me well, has it not?” Loki asked. A moment later he held a ball of fire in his hand and launched it at the blonde Asgardian, missing his face by centimeters, eliciting a louder roar of laughter from the rest of the group.

“Save it for the battlefield,” Sif called. She drew her sword and pointed it playfully at Thor, “Shall we?”

“Are you certain, Lady Sif?” Thor asked, a smile spreading across his face, “You know how badly I beat you the last time.”

“Them's fightin' words, Sif,” Darcy called, “Get him!”

Sif and Thor took the center of the field, dancing circles around one another, each waiting for the other to strike first. Loki and Darcy seated themselves next to one another to watch, Loki's arm wrapped around Darcy's shoulders. Hogun and Volstagg stood on either side of the lovers, waiting, but for what Darcy did not know.

Thor struck first. He feigned left and Sif did not fall for his trick, landing a blow to his shoulder. Thor roared with pain or laughter, Darcy could not tell, and kept circling Sif. He began to twirl Mjolnir and threw it directly at Sif's midsection which Sif narrowly avoided. Ina few seconds Sif jumped through the air, sword drawn, directly at Thor and he side-stepped her easily. Only a fleeting moment went by and Darcy realized that Sif was going to land – hard – right on top of Loki and her. Loki did not flinch or try to move them out of harm's way at all - Hogun and Volstagg caught Sif before she could reach the lovers.

Thor threw Mjolnir without holding back, catching Sif on her ankle. She let out a sharp cry of pain and rotated toward him, landing a harsh blow on the same shoulder as before. Thor dropped Mjolnir involuntarily and cried out, “Yield!”

“Never!” Sif laughed, placing her weight on her uninjured ankle. In a show of good form she dropped her sword and shield so that they would remain evenly matched. The two were a flurry of fists in no time, each landing hard punches that caused Darcy to gasp aloud.

“Oh my god, they're going to kill each other,” Darcy said to Loki and he grinned.

“They nearly did, once, but they can both handle this. In fact...” Loki let his voice trail off as he stood, walking toward the dueling pair. He conjured a fireball in each hand and threw them at the dueling friends. He circled them quickly, throwing fireball after fireball at them, causing greater difficulty for both. Thor and Sif dodged the magic as they continued to pummel one another and attempted to deflect one another's fists. After only a few moments Sif delivered a perfect roundhouse kick straight to the side of Thor's head, and to Darcy's great surprise they both started laughing.

“I yield!” Thor called, blood trickling from a gash in his forehead. Loki stopped the fireballs but Sif landed one more punch to Thor's arm. “Woman I said I yield!”

Sif and Thor collapsed to the ground, both out of breath, both laughing, and soon the rest of the group was laughing along with them.

“Just like old times,” Thor said, sitting up. Sif let out a sigh of agreement and Darcy and the other Asgardians clapped for the pair's entertaining show.

“Volstagg! Food!” Sif ordered and everyone made a collective noise of approval at this idea. Volstagg fetched a lunch of bread, cheeses, fruit, and mead from the saddlebags of the horses and returned. The friends took seats in a circle, talking, eating, and laughing.

“How did you two meet? Volstagg asked, a chunk of bread in one hand and a chunk of cheese in the other.

Loki and Darcy looked at one another to determine which of them was going to answer. They silently decided that Darcy would.

“Big bad over here was put in SHIELD's time-out chair, also known as mine and Jane's lab. We spent a lot of time together, I found out that he wasn't such a bad guy after all, and here we are,” she told them.

Fandral chimed in. “We thought he would never find a wife given his-” Fandral started, but Sif kicked him to keep him from finishing. Loki's eyes widened and he paled. Darcy's face shot back and forth between Loki's and Fandral's.

“What?” she asked.

“What?” Fandral responded.

“He would never find a wife given his what?”

An awkward silence ravaged the clearing, Loki's seething rage bubbling just below the surface of his skin was evident to everyone present.

“Babe, whatever it is, I don't care. I mean you destroyed New York City for god's sake, I think I've shown that I'm a pretty understanding person,” Darcy said to Loki, and his rage seemed to subside slightly. She rubbed a hand over his hand and the other Asgardians shot venomous looks at Fandral. “You know, as long as it's not space herpes.”

Loki ignored her last statement. “My _friends_ here thought that I would never find a wife here on Asgard because of my true parentage,” Loki said. He gave her a look as though he was waiting for the hammer to fall. She was going to leave him for certain.

“True parentage? You mean you're adopted?” Darcy asked. The warriors-three exchanged nervous looks and Sif and Thor both looked pensive.

“In a manner of speaking, yes. I am not Asgardian by lineage. I am of Jotunheim,” Loki breathed out shakily. Darcy was waiting for him to continue, and spoke when she realized that that was the punch line.

“I don't understand. This seems to be a really big deal to you guys, I guess?” asked Darcy.

“There is nothing the matter, Lady Darcy,” Thor said, “Loki is our family and that is all that is important.”

“Were you going to wait to tell her when you two were married?” Fandral asked, the sneer in his voice practically palpable.

“It never came up!” Loki snapped.

“I'm starting to get pissed, you guys. No one's telling me what this means,” said Darcy. She leaned back against a log and crossed her arms.

“It means-” Fandral started, but Sif whacked him with her sword.

“This is what it means,” Loki said, and he closed his eyes. Slowly his skin darkened to a deep shade of crystalline blue. Deep ridged lines appeared all over his skin and when he opened their eyes they were a brilliant scarlet. Loki waited for Darcy to scream but she just looked him over.

“That's it?” she said at last. Thor let out a breath he did not realize he had been holding and even Hogun seemed to relax a little.

“What?” Loki blinked.

“Seriously? You're blue? That's your big earth-shattering secret?” she said. Darcy heard Thor let out an involuntary giggle from her left and she heard another whack from Sif's sword.

“You don't understand, Darcy. I am a monster to these people. I am the scary thing in the dark. I-”

“-am Batman?” Darcy asked, clearly both amused and unimpressed.

Thor let out a belly laugh. “I told you she would not run screaming when you revealed it to her, brother,” Thor laughed, breaking the last bit of tension that remained.

“Why would I? You're blue! Who cares?” said Darcy.

“It is a bit more than my skin just being a different shade, Darcy,” said Loki, “Touch my skin.”

Darcy reached out and trailed her fingers lightly up Loki's arm. He felt cool, not cold; the skin itself had taken on a tougher texture.

“Neat,” was all she said. Loki's hardened face softened and he concentrated on changing his skin back to its previous color.

“See ? Your story is written in the stars, you and Loki were meant to find one another,” said Thor and Darcy smiled.

“That is the first time I have witnessed Loki show his Jotun form,” Volstagg said, “It was not bad.”

“It was not,” Sif agreed.

“Yes, indeed my Jotun form is something akin to a delicate newborn babe,” Loki said, “Shall we start for the castle? I know a queen who will not be pleased if the future princess is late for her appointment with the wedding florist.”

“Indeed. Our mother can be a formidable woman when she sets her mind to it,” said Thor.

Darcy let out an involuntary groan and stood with the rest of them, brushing off her brown riding pants. She allowed Loki to help her mount her mare and they kept a leisurely pace back to the palace.

“Sif,” Darcy said while they were somewhere in the city, “I want to fight like you.”

Sif slowed her steed's pace and pulled next to Darcy's. “Indeed?”

“I do,” Darcy said, “You kicked ass today. I want to be able to do that, too.”

“Then your training begins tomorrow. Meet me on the sparring grounds at sunrise, and be well fed when you come,” Sif said.

“Yes ma'am,” said Darcy.

By the time they reached Castle Asgard Darcy was ready for a nap and a shower, but the queen and florist were ready to receive her the instant she entered the castle.

Loki and Darcy parted ways; Loki left her with a sympathetic look and Darcy marched over to the florist who had set up a table with different arrangements prepared. Loki did not envy his fiancee this chore.

Loki went to his chambers to pass the time Darcy would spend planning their wedding. The sooner they were married the better – the stress of worrying about her mortal safety was beginning to take its toll on him. He lay down on his bed after removing his boots and shut his eyes for what seemed only to be a moment, he opened them again to find that the sun was now setting. He lay there for a few peaceful minutes, allowing himself time to awaken before rising, dressing, and setting out to find Darcy.

His journey ended almost as soon as it began; Darcy was in her chambers and he found that she had followed his suit by taking an afternoon nap of her own to recharge. He considered awakening her but decided against it, choosing instead to let her sleep in peace.

Loki wandered the castle with no focus, no aim. He drank in the sight of the setting sun through the large windows, noting that this sunset seemed more beautiful than others he had seen before. It held strokes of brilliant pink, midnight blue, and vibrant orange. Or perhaps it had been so long since he really _looked_ at a sunset that he simply could not remember.

Loki headed to the large balcony on the west side of the castle to get the best view of the last remaining minutes of the setting sun. When he arrived he found that he would not be alone – Thor was there already, leaning on the stone balcony railing, lost in thought. Loki considered turning around and leaving right then but it was no use, Thor had already heard him.

“Brother,” Thor greeted quietly.

“Thor,” Loki responded. He took a seat on the stone bench and stared out at the horizon.

“You are lucky to have Lady Darcy, Loki. Words do injustice to how I truly feel about you finding one another,” Thor said.

Loki hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. “And what of you and Jane?” he reciprocated.

Thor sighed and his eyes met with a memory that was far away. “I miss her daily. I was envious of you when I sent you to Midgard, if you can believe that. Heimdall informed us of what you were doing to pass the time and when I discovered that you were spending your days with Jane I am ashamed to admit that I worried,” said Thor.

“You worried?”

“Aye. You have spent much more time with her than I have. I found myself thinking, what would a woman like Jane find in me anyway? She is not like other women – a kingdom and wealth would not win her. She is wise one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. I worried that enough time with you would reveal that you could challenge her intellectually and she would lose interest in me.”

Loki was stunned and thought over his response carefully. Was Thor really going to force him to have this conversation? He stole a glance at Thor and his brother's anguished visage tugged at heartstrings Loki did not know he still had for him.

“Worry not, Thor,” Loki said, taking pity on him.

Thor remained silent, waiting for Loki to continue. Loki quietly searched for his next words.

“Jane's heart is yours and her devotion to you is true. And I must say that she is an excellent mate for you – she will balance you and you will balance her in turn. I have not the faintest idea why she would choose you either, Thor,” Loki said only half-jokingly, “Of course, I have never understood why women throw themselves at you.”

Thor smiled, a single tear falling from his eye. “Yes, well, I know what Darcy sees in you. When first I met her the thought that you two could even be compatible never occurred to me, but I am joyous that your fates are intertwined. If mother had not foreseen it I am not certain you and Lady Darcy would have ever met.”

There was a long silence, and then Loki's dangerously quiet voice responded.

“Once more, Thor?”

Thor froze at the tone of Loki's voice. “I am joyous at your union?” he offered.

“After that.”

The blonde Odinson was silent, searching in vain for a way out of the situation. When he could not find one, he gave in with a heavy sigh. “Mother foresaw yours and Lady Darcy's meeting,” Thor told him finally.

“That is what I thought I heard,” said Loki. He fluidly rose and stormed back inside the castle, a man on a mission.

“Loki!” Thor called after him. He was immediately ignored and Thor decided against running after his brother. When his mind was made up Loki was as stubborn as Odin.

Loki seethed quietly, darkly, while he searched the palace. He grew more impatient with each step and could not find his mother anywhere. He came upon a group of servants conversing with one another who became quiet at his approach.

“My queen mother, where is she?” Loki demanded.

“Sh- she is with King Odin in his sleeping chambers,” replied one.

Loki nodded his acknowledgment and made his way to Odin's sleeping room to find his mother by his side, reading to him out of an ancient tome. She raised her head in greeting as Loki entered.

“Might I have a word?” asked Loki.

“Of course, my son,” said Frigga, setting the book on the bed next to the sleeping form of her husband.

Loki offered his hand and she took it, rising from her plush chair, and allowed him to lead her to her private sitting room that was off the one side of Odin's sleeping room.

“What is it, Loki?” she asked. Loki paused and sat with her on one of the fainting couches that decorated the room.

“Is it true that you sent me to Midgard to meet Darcy?”

The smile on Frigga's face slowly faded to a faint smirk, but the mischievous twinkle in her eye did not dim even slightly.

“It is true that I looked into the future of every mortal that Thor met when your father banished him there, yes, Loki. I did not even dream that I would find you in Lady Darcy's future,” she told him. She allowed him time to process her words. “I saw you happy, my son. I saw you loved, and loving another so selflessly that it nearly left me breathless. I saw-”

“No more.”

Frigga was silent, trying in vain to read her son.

“I wish to hear no more. Only know that while I feel quite manipulated- no, do not speak, mother- while I was manipulated, for the first time in my many years I am grateful for your sight beyond sight. But I wish to know no more of it. Let mine and Darcy's lives play out as they should henceforth.”

“That I shall,” Frigga said, her easy smile falling back into place like a well-loved sweater on a winter's day. “I can only read her future while she is still mortal, my son. The sooner you are wed the sooner you can guarantee that I can not meddle.”

“I request, respectfully, that you do not meddle, do not use your sight beyond sight to look into her fate any longer. No matter what happens. Swear to me,” Loki said.

His mother looked away.

“Swear it. Please,” said Loki.

Frigga gave a sigh of defeat. “I swear it, Loki. I will not look into Darcy's mortal fate ever again.”

“Thank you. My bride-to-be cannot sleep all evening. I shall retrieve her for our evening meal,” said Loki. With that he rose and left the room.

Frigga looked after him, a worried expression etched into the lines of her elegant face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to make it clear that this story is not compatible with Thor 2. Just like the original 'Appeal to My Humanity', this story line only follows the events after Thor 1 and The Avengers - nothing later. So anything we've learned about any of the characters in Thor 2 will not apply in this sequel. I wanted to let you guys know before there is any confusion.
> 
> Unbeta'd.

“So... this has taken a lot longer than a few days. Its been a month now, guys,” Nick Fury said as he entered the lab, staring at the trio's backs. Neither Tony, Bruce, or Jane so much as glanced up at the director; they were all looking at the same computer screen, studying a model of the portal generator.

“Tell me about it,” said Jane.

“The energy flow regulator is what's holding it up, Director Fury,” said Bruce as he turned around to face the director. “Each one we try doesn't seem to be strong enough to hold onto the power of the current. The problem with that is that when we test them they burn out-”

“-or explode,” said Tony.

“-or explode,” agreed Bruce. “Working on the problem as fast as we can.”

“I'm certain you are. Keep me updated,” said Fury. His scrutinizing eye swept around the room for a moment before he turned and as he exited the lab.

Jane sighed. “If I get to Asgard and that Bifrost is already fixed, I'm going to kill Thor.”

Bruce and Tony glanced at one another over Jane's head but said nothing. Instead the trio continued to work into the night just as they had for weeks.

x

X

x

Darcy noticed a shift in Loki's demeanor all evening but could not tell what had changed. Was he happy? Upset? He sat rigidly next to her at dinner, more silent than usual, but she paid him no mind. Reformed or not he could be one of the most moody, brooding people she had ever met and she wasn't about to set a habit of her putting up with his bullshit.

“I hear that you will be joining Lady Sif on the training grounds tomorrow,” Thor said. Every Asgardian within earshot was suddenly listening, which was practically the entire dining hall considering Thor's boisterously loud voice carried well.

“Yep,” said Darcy, her eyes glanced to Loki quickly and then immediately back to Thor, “She gave you a run for your money back in the forest today. I would love to see what she can teach me.

Fandral raised a glass towards Darcy. “A toast to our new princess, who is braver than us all,” he said with a flashing grin.

“Hear, hear,” Volstagg said and the two drank from their tankards deeply. Darcy laughed.

“I'm starting to think I bit off more than I can chew,” Darcy said, taking a small sip of her own Asgardian Ale.

“You will have if you do not show up on time tomorrow morning, Lady Darcy. Princess or no you shall be treated like any new recruit,” Sif warned her.

“Awesome,” said Darcy, “I wouldn't want you to take it easy on me.”

“She would do well to take it easy on you, darling, if she knows what is good for her,” Loki said, and Darcy dropped her fork on her plate with a loud clatter. The noise in their immediate vicinity ceased. Darcy did not utter a word as she stared at him, her anger apparent.

“What?” he asked.

She said nothing as she rose from her chair and left the dining hall. Loki and the rest of those present watched her exit and Loki turned to Thor.

“What? What did I say?”

“I am not certain,” Thor said.

“You insulted her,” Sif told him.

“I did not.”  
“You did,” said Hogun. “You questioned her ability publicly.”

Loki rose immediately and marched after her. As he exited the dining all he could hear shouts of laughter follow him- “He's in for it now!” called some unknown Asgardian and Loki sneered no one in particular.

Loki found Darcy in her chambers standing on the balcony and staring out at the night sky. Her face was flushed but she did not appear to have been crying, much to his relief.

“Darcy?”

She instantly tensed and turned away slightly from him, remaining silent.

“Darcy, I apologize,” Loki started, “I did not realize-”  
“Loki, do you have any idea how hard it is for me here?”

Loki was frozen in place for a moment, his mind blank rather than actually thinking about how he would reply. He regained his composure quickly.

“Yes, I imagine it must be awful having to be waited on hand and foot after a lifetime of doing things for yourself,” Loki sneered, instantly defensive. Darcy whirled around to face him.

“That's not what I meant at all, you jerk. That part can be pretty rad sometimes, but I'm talking about you protecting me constantly. It's sweet, it really is, and I get where you're coming from, I really do, but it's getting to be too much. We all went to the forest today and it was the first time I'd been outside of these walls in a _month_. Nothing happened! Nothing! I'm still alive, dammit!” Darcy's volume rose, “Have you ever considered that me just being here in Asgard has been a bit of culture shock to me? I'm still getting used to things and people are are _just_ starting to really accept me. Do you really think Sif is going to break bones or accidentally kill me if she sneezes too hard?”

“Yes,” Loki answered simply.

“Yes,” Darcy repeated, rolling the word around on her tongue with distaste.

“Lady Sif is a fierce woman and can lose herself in the heat of battle. I cannot think of a time when she ever fought a mortal, let alone a female mortal. Her judgment of what your body can safely withstand is what I have called into question, not your ability to withstand it,” said Loki.

“That's not what it sounded like to me,” Darcy said, and she crossed her arms and leaned against the heavy stone railing of the balcony, looking away from him into the night sky.

“I apologize again,” Loki said and he wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his chest but her arms remained crossed. “I believe I understand better than anyone the 'culture shock' you're going through, darling. You have integrated beautifully and with more grace than anyone could have wished. You are to be their princess and you will make a fine one. I just worry about you. You're... fragile.”  
“I'm still pissed at you.”

“Of course you are, love. I promise to attempt to stop myself from telling you what to do as long as you promise to be careful,” Loki smiled and Darcy draped her arms around his waist.

“Like you could tell me what to do,” she teased.

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

One moment Darcy was standing with Loki's arms wrapped around her, the next moment she found herself lifted into the air over his shoulder and she let out a surprised squeal of surprised delight. Loki tossed her unceremoniously to the bed and landed atop her, kissing and nipping at her neck and collar bones. Darcy let out a small moan.

“I'm still pissed at you.”

Loki moved one strong hand down her body, caressing her legs and bringing it back up to tease her inner thighs. His kisses never ceased.

“We will have to amend that,” he breathed and slipped his hand up her skirt.

Darcy closed her eyes and ran her fingers through his hair, her heat rising. Loki continued to work her neck until she not-so-gently guided his head up to hers and allowed him to claim her mouth. She moved her fingers to start working through the many layers of leather he wore and she felt his fingers reach her panties, playing at their hem. She worked faster, knowing that she would be all but useless once he began to work his magic on her heat.

Loki shifted his weight, moving to crouch on his knees to get a better angle and never once broke their kiss. He hovered above her and let his wandering hand linger, only for a moment, before allowing them to delve into her slick folds. Darcy shuddered at his touch that had become so attuned to her body – Loki knew exactly what she wanted and what she did not want and knew precisely how long to tease her.

Darcy could tell by his maddening pace that there was going to a lot of teasing this evening.

She tried to concentrate on working past the numerous buckles and straps that adorned his ensemble but found that she simply could not. Instead she lay back and moaned into his ear, letting him pleasure her.

“Keep working,” Loki ordered, his voice thick with his own need. But he would not go easy on his mortal love this night.

Darcy opened her eyes, her pupils dilated, and did not try to argue. One strap was undone – Loki worked his fingers faster. One more buckle came loose – Loki responded but plunging two long fingers into her, eliciting an involuntary gasp from her. She froze only momentarily before her mind snapped back to the task at hand- removing all that damn leather. He let out a a deep, throaty chuckle at her plight as she rocked herself into his fingers. She was finally able to remove his leather duster and tunic; she immediately began working at his trousers, noting with satisfaction the bulge awaiting her.

Loki worked her faster, increasing the rhythm and intentionally attempting to distract her from her work. She spread her legs wantonly and finally freed him from his trousers, running one hand up and down his length. She brought her other hand to his face and pulled him down for another crushing kiss, feeling him moan into her mouth. Her breathing came faster and faster and Loki without warning withdrew himself from her.

“More,” Darcy breathed, frustrated that he would bring her so close to the brink and leave her stranded.

“No,” Loki said, his teasing, hungry eyes belying his need.

“More,” Darcy demanded again and she wiggled out from underneath him, pulling off her panties in a rush but leaving on her white chiffon dress. She pushed him down onto the pillows as she took in the sight of him – his white tunic splayed out beneath him and his length bulging out of his undone trousers, longing to be freed, awaiting her. It was the most erotic sight Darcy had seen in a long time and she pounced immediately. She climbed atop him without hesitation, rocking her clit back and forth against his shaft and pulling a moan from his lips. By teasing him she was driving herself mad and after only a few moments she could wait no longer. She plunged downward on his length in one smooth motion. In unison their heads rolled back in pleasure and Darcy began to work him. She built a steady pace until she felt Loki put two firm hands on either sides of her hips and forced her rhythm to slow, pulling her from the brink once more.

“Aaaargh!” Darcy cried out in desperation and Loki, grinning, shifted his weight in one fluid motion, positioning Darcy on her knees in front of him while he entered her from behind. She cried out in pleasure and he rode her without mercy, bringing her to her climax and allowing her to peak. Her walls clenched around his length as she came, but Loki did not allow himself to follow her over the edge. Instead he rolled her onto her back once more, positioning himself between her legs.

“Have you any idea the lengths I would go to to keep you here?” Loki breathed, his deep eyes boring into her own.

Ah, Needy Loki. Sometimes she liked Needy Loki.

“Mmmm,” she replied, her eyes heavy-lidded with passion.

“Any last requests?” he asked, positioning himself at her entrance.

“Just one,” she said, and motioned for him to bring his face closer to hers. She whispered in his ear and he froze, his member throbbing with need, waiting to dive into her heat. He knew better than to ask if she was certain.

“As you wish,” he said.

She watched in pleasure as a blue tinge crawled across his skin, leaving those darker blue swirled ridges in its wake. His red eyes looked down into her brown ones and he watched her grin with unhinged delight, so surprised was he at her pleasure. He ripped off the last remaining shreds of his clothing while Darcy slipped her dress easily over her head and deposited it unceremoniously on the floor.

The moment Darcy was ready Loki sheathed himself within her once more. She gasped at the cool, not cold, feeling and found it to be refreshing and pleasant. He allowed her a few precious seconds to adjust to his cooler temperature before he worked his hips into her slowly, drawing out her raw, ragged breaths. She ran her fingers up his arms, circling the ridges in his skin and bracing herself against his thrusts.

Loki positioned her legs straight to the heavens and held her ankles together, pumping faster and faster. Darcy gripped his arms for leverage and threw her head back, letting herself feel her heat build. They reached their climaxes together and Loki let out an animalistic roar of unbridled pleasure; Darcy shuddered around him and when he was certain that she had been satisfied fully he collapsed atop her.

The lovers held each other for several minutes and Loki remained in his Jotun form for her, allowing her to continue tracing he ridges in his skin.

“Your blue is pretty,” she told him sleepily, laying her hot face on his cool chest.

“Mmmm,” was all she heard. They drifted off the sleep in Darcy's chambers, their quarrel forgotten.

x

X

x

“Darcy, you should awaken if you do not wish for Lady Sif to beat you black and blue on your first day.”

“Hrmph,” was the response Loki received. A wave of his hand lit the sconces in the room, casting a delicate glow about the room and he leaned over her sleeping form, gently pulling away the coverlets from her face.

“Darling, right now you have time for a bath and breakfast. If you are to sleep longer you will hardly have time to get dressed,” Loki informed her. He kissed her cheek and trailed butterfly kisses along her jawbone that ended at her shoulder. Darcy stirred.

“Well when you put it like that,” she sighed and forced herself to sit upright, her eyes still closed, her hair tumbling in a haphazard mass to her waist. She allowed herself a moment to adjust to the cool air of the room before leaving the cocoon of warmth that was her bed. Loki lay there, watching her.

As Darcy drew her bath she blinked several times, trying in vain to remember the entire dream she had had the night before. All she could recall was that she and Loki were in the very room in which she found herself standing- her chambers. Dream-Loki had been sleeping soundly in their own bed and Dream-Darcy watched him in between instances in which she decided to start flying around the room. It had felt odd, almost like an un-dream, like it was so real and so surreal all at once that it stuck out in her mind.

Darcy shook away the dream the moment her bath was drawn. A half-hour into her morning routine she was awake and dressed, as was Loki, and she threw her hair hair into a quick ponytail before Inga would have any time to reach her chambers and change her simple hairstyle into an ornate Asgardian one.

They walked in silence in the darkened caste, catching muffled bits and pieces of the quiet goings-on in various rooms behind their closed doors. The soft sounds of their footfall seemed almost preciously fleeting, as though they would never see the palace this silent again.

It was no surprise when they discovered that the dining hall was empty save for the one servant in a corner awaiting breakfast orders. Darcy took Loki's advice and opted for an extra portion of protein in addition to her light fruit and grain and the pair ate silently, each of them lost in thought as they swept the final cobwebs of sleepiness from their minds. Darcy grew more awake and excited with each bite and when she finished her meal she practically bubbled with anticipation at training with Sif that morning.

Loki finished his own breakfast and escorted her to the training grounds to find Sif already awaiting them, which caused an involutnary thrill of panic to shoot through Darcy – were they late? But the look on Sif's face told her that they were not. Darcy noticed that armor Loki made for her just before their battle with Thanos was laid out and waiting for her. Loki bade Darcy good luck with a quick kiss and a worried look which was immediately followed by a deadly warning look shot directly at Sif before turning and leaving.

“Armor on,” Sif said and Darcy moved. Darcy had never had to physically put on her own armor before (Loki had magicked it onto her body the one and only time she had worn it) which slowed her significantly, but Sif shows no signs of irritation and waited patiently. Darcy finally was able to tie on her final piece of armor and without wasting another moment Sif handed Darcy her sword.

“You must consider the length of your weapon in comparison to your opponent,” Sif started, “You, Lady Darcy, require a shorter sword than most any warrior in all of Asgard. They will not laugh at you in your presence. Of course not, for you are to be their princess; they wouldn't dare. No, they shall laugh in the night, in the taverns, after the royalty has gone to rest their weary heads on their soft pillows. When I am finished with you, Lady Darcy, they will not dare,” Sif said, narrowing her eyes. She circled around Darcy, examining her armor and her natural standing position.

“Range of your blade does not betray the outcome of any duel. The advantages of your short sword are that it is quick, precise, and you can more easily return to a ready stance. The disadvantage is that it will not deal as heavy a blow to your opponent, so you must keep your wits about you. You will learn to be quick, cutting your enemy in the correct places and waiting them out while they bleed, weakening them. Now armor off,” Sif ordered.

Darcy gave her a quizzical look but got to work after only a fleeting moment and took several minutes to remove the armor as she was instructed. Sif studied her as she shed the metal pieces. She noted that although it seemed that the seconds dragged while she was being examined, the armor still took her far less time to take off than it did to put on, her fingers already remembering the patterns of the straps.

“Good,” said Sif when Darcy finally removed her last leg plate. Darcy stood at attention, awaiting further instruction and she noticed that a couple of aesir warriors had stopped their morning warm-ups to watch the women train and Darcy was becoming increasingly self-conscious about it.

“You there! Gawkers!” yelled Sif as she pointed at the bystanders, “You will clean the stables this morning! Move!” The men hurried along, grumbling to one another. She turned to Darcy.

“And that takes care of them,” said Sif. “Armor on.”  
Darcy once again fumbled through putting on her full set of armor. Sif again ordered it off and Darcy complied without complaint. It went like this, armor on, armor off, for hours when Sif announced that they were finished, much to Darcy's great relief. The sun was reaching its peak and Darcy felt every beat of its harsh rays. She was dripping with sweat, already sore, and pretty sure her fingers would have blisters from working the many straps. She trudged back up to the castle with Sif.

“You did well today, Lady Darcy,” Sif said.

Darcy moaned a tired sound of thanks and paused for a moment.

“You can call me Darcy, Sif,” she told the warrior.

Sif granted her a smile and bowed her head in acknowledgment.

Darcy ran her fingers through her sweaty, unruly hair that had cemented itself to her skin while simultaneously working around the winding dirt path back up to the palace. When she finally did reach it, each step she took up the large stone stairs made her aching muscles cry in pain.

Pain that she would not let show to anyone on the outside. Sif was right. Darcy was going to be a figurehead in Asgard, a _human_ one at that. She needed to earn the common Asgardian's respect.

“It is a warrior's ache, Darcy. Good pain,” Sif commented as she eyed Darcy's gait, “You will want your betrothed to make you a balm for your muscles. I will see you again on the morrow,” Sif told her, taking her leave as the two parted ways at the top of the steps.

In what seemed like a tired, delirious blur Darcy made her way to Loki's chambers, letting herself through the huge double doors and collapsing onto his bed. She drifted to sleep and awoke to the sensation of cool, wonderful hands running themselves over her body. She cracked open two sleepy eyes to see Loki rubbing a delicious-smelling, minty-feeling balm over her bare legs and arms. It took all the energy she could muster for her to shrug off most of her clothing, allowing him access to almost every inch of her body. Her eyes fluttered closed when he began to work her back, kneading her aching muscles with lithe, knowing fingers, conjuring moans from her that were almost erotic.

“You need to awaken, love,” Loki told her, interrupting her almost-departure from the conscious world, “Mother has more decorations for you to look through.”

Darcy groaned and forced her eyes wide open, trying in vain to ignore the heavenly feeling of her suddenly relaxed limbs.

“That's it, we're eloping,” she informed him. Loki's face fleetingly looked as though the idea thoroughly appealed to him, but Darcy continued before he could comment. “Fine, fine, I'm up.”

She spent the rest of her afternoon picking out table runner fabric and ceiling décor with Queen Frigga who continued to be beside herself with excitement.

“Why, we have not had the pleasure of a royal wedding since Odin and I were wed,” she reminisced.

“How long ago was that?” Darcy asked while she ran delicate fingers over a lavender fabric that was as soft as a rose petal.

“Several millenia,” Frigga replied, her eyes never leaving the gigantic ceiling bauble she was fussing with. She had said it so nonchalantly, as though she was talking about the weather.

Darcy's hands stopped running over the lavender fabric.

“How do you make it work?” Darcy blurted out.

The queen paused and smiled her kind, wise smile.

“One day at a time.”

Darcy thought about that answer for several moments and decided that she didn't like it. “But there has to be more to it than that.”

Frigga turned from the ceiling bauble and faced Darcy. The years of experience shined from Frigga without making her look weathered. Frigga thought for only a moment and explained: “There are your day-to-day lives. Your duties to the kingdom, your duties to one another, your duties to your children and your duties to yourselves. You must both be strong but not forceful, clever but not petty, and sympathetic but not irresolute. Go to bed angry and you will find that your disputes shall have resolved themselves by the morning. But above all things you must never lose sight of why you chose one another, for it shall be the light that guides you in your darkest hour,” said the queen as she took Darcy's hands into her own. “I believe I know my son better than anyone else, Lady Darcy. I have seen him lash out in furious anger and I have witnessed his fall from this realm eternal. And through all this, I rest assured in your love for one another. Why, your devotion is written all over both of your faces.”

Darcy was stunned. She held back tears but did not hold back a fierce hug which was returned by Frigga.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Think nothing of it at all. Now I believe we are finished with this décor for the day; you run along, child.”

x

X

x

Each following day passed very much like Darcy's first training day. She awoke early, trained until midday, appeased the queen by giving her input on wedding details and fell into bed with Loki at night. Occasionally Darcy would be taught courtyard propriety one day and the finer points of how, exactly, to address an Elvish envoy the next, but otherwise Darcy began to grow accustomed to the bustle of palace life.

Darcy was finding the sameness that occurred day-in and day-out was becoming monotonous, a sort of white noise that she felt she couldn't escape. Finally, she turned to her husband-to-be during breakfast one morning, eying him carefully and deciding that he was in good enough mood to press the subject.

“I have the day off. Let's go on an adventure.”

Loki shot her an uncertain look. “Another ride to the Flagsylph Forest?”

“Actually, you'll be happy to know that for once I want to stay inside,” she told him with a grin. He did not contain his look of surprise.

“Is that so? To where shall we find ourselves adventuring?”

Darcy's eyes narrowed and she lowered her voice conspiratorily. “The library.”

Loki smiled involuntarily. “A love for books to which I can relate. Yes, this one will make a fine wife.”

She rolled her eyes and they rose from the table together, exiting the dining hall hand-in-hand. Loki led Darcy through the halls of the palace past statues and tapestries to a wing she had never been to before, all marble-looking walls that led to a set of pearly double doors. When Darcy passed through them she gasped.

The walls of the grand library were lined with hundreds of shelves of books of every shape, size, and apparent age. The entire vault of books was empty save for one lone crone who sat behind an ancient desk, thumbing through a large volume and writing on a scroll every so often. Darcy took in the smell of the immense room and realized that even on an alien planet the distinct scent of a library was the same as it was on Earth.

It was only now that Darcy realized that Loki was studying her.

“What?” she asked.

“It is a rare sight indeed to see one so enchanted with all this,” he said, motioning to the shelves.

“Are you kidding? This rocks!” she said and made her way to the nearest shelf. She ran her fingers along the old, withered titles and pulled one of the texts off of the shelf.

“ _The Complete History of Asgard_ ,” she read aloud and flipped through its pages. She looked up at Loki, puzzled. “Half of this book is empty!”

“Of course it is. It is the  _complete_ history of Asgard. It is still being written,” Loki said simply, as though it made all the sense in the world. “Our battle with Thanos should be in there already, and our engagement as well.”

“Ooh, it is! I'm in a book,” Darcy said with a smile, which quickly turned to a frown as she surveyed the other books on the shelves. “And right next to it is  _The Encyclopedia of the Nine Realms_ , and next to that is  _Midgardian Tales of Asgardian Events_ . Does this library not organize books by subject?”

“There is no need,” Loki told her and guided her to the wizened old woman sitting behind the desk.

“Brunhilde?” he said, and the woman raised her head from her work.

“Prince Loki,” the woman greeted him, “and this must be your betrothed. Tiny thing, are you not?”

Darcy did not know if she should agree with the woman or laugh, but thankfully Loki answered.

“Brunhilde, please show me where I will find  _Essential Spells for the Apprenticing Sorcerer_ .”

The old woman nodded once and hovered a hand over the scroll in which she had previously been writing. It glowed blue and Darcy saw that one of the many rows of books that stretched down a long hallway began to glow blue in turn. Loki saw the light as well and thanked Brunhilde, heading toward the light as Darcy followed after him. They rounded the corner of a shelf and Loki plucked the glowing blue tome from its shelf, giving Darcy a smug smile.

“That's it? The book you're looking for sparkles like a World of Warcraft quest item?”

“Well it is quite a fast way of finding them,” Loki said simply.

“You people need computers,” Darcy remarked before she allowed herself to be immersed in the titles. Through the jumble of off subjects she was able to find another couple of books on sorcery, so she gathered a few of them from the shelves and sat down at a nearby table to flip through their dusty pages. Loki remained standing, scrutinizing  _Essential Spells for the Apprenticing Sorcerer_ .

“These spells are not essential,” he muttered aloud, “It has been so long since I've read this that I hadn't realized the drivel contained within.”

“These ones are pretty rad, actually,” Darcy called over her shoulder without taking her eyes off of the page, “I mean, I can't read any of this but there are a ton of pictures. Check it out, this dude's on fire, but look, it's not so bad because he's happy,” she said, pointing to a page in the text with a picture of a grinning man engulfed in bright green flames. Loki leaned in for a closer look.

“It is a warming spell. It will keep your body within an acceptable temperature range even during the coldest of winters,” Loki explained.

“And they show that by drawing a guy on  _fire?_ ”

“Of course. How else would you depict a body being warmed by magic?”

“Right,” Darcy said, closing her book and moving on to the next one.

“Your mortal life force is too weak to handle magic in your current state, but when you partake in one of Idun's apples I can teach you these spells if you like,” he said, looking up from his reading.

Darcy blinked. “What?”

“I can teach you to work magic once we are married,” Loki repeated.

“Are you kidding me? All right, we need to get a move on with this wedding thing. I'll sit through a hundred dress fittings if I have to,” she told him. He laughed and smiled down at her.

“Is betrothal to me not enough? I must bribe the lady with power as well?”

“You got it.”

“That's my girl.”

The two put away their tomes and headed for the exit together.

“I'm serious about you people needing computers, though,” Darcy commented as they left, her voice trailing off down the hallway.

x

X

x

Thor was unusually quiet at dinner later that evening. He seemed lost in thought, his eyes staring off into nothing and focused on something that no one could see. Darcy shot a quizzical look at Loki and her eyes darted toward the god of thunder, but Loki gave her a shrug.

“What's up with you?” Darcy asked. When Thor did not answer, Darcy asked again, waving a hand to capture his attention. Thor's faced snapped to Darcy and he smiled, abashed that he had been so deeply engrossed in thought.

“Lady Darcy, my apologies. A king's worries have occupied my attentions this night. I shall deign to be more present,” Thor said. Loki let out an involuntary snort at 'a king's worries' but no one commented.

“Anything I can help with?” Darcy asked and Thor began to wave his hand in dismissal, but stopped mid-wave.

“Perhaps not something that requires your assistance, but your betrothed may hold the answer to my plight,” Thor said with a grin and Loki stopped chewing, a careful look of guarded caution crossing his features.

“Yes?” Loki asked.

“I received word that the North Palace of Alfheim is still rebuilding after Thanos's attack. They have not the manpower needed to make the palace whole before their frost season begins. I have my days filled with my duties here and moreover, I am no diplomat. I may inadvertently offend the elves' delicate sensibilities. But you, brother; you have the gift of the tongue, you speak the very language of diplomacy. Will you go in my stead and represent Asgard properly?” Thor asked. Darcy kept her smile to herself; it sounded like Thor knew exactly how to ask for a favor from his brother. Compliments will get you far.

Loki thought over the request for a moment. On one hand his idiot brother might cause inter-realm war with his brutish mannerisms. On the other, he hated doing royal work and having to maintain careful face around foreign leaders. But the third option was appealing – win points with the fiancee by taking her on a whirlwind trip to another realm. Something to make up for their Stockholm holiday that had been cut bitingly short.

“I shall do as you ask, Thor, on one condition. Darcy must accompany me.”  
Darcy gave out an almost-inaudible squeal of delight and she clapped her hands together, eliciting an amused look from Volstagg.

“Of course! Lady Darcy should see Alfheim and become familiar with their leaders as well,” Thor agreed.

“Ooh, when are we going?” Darcy asked.

“On the morrow,” Thor replied.

“Oh my god, I have zero time to pack!” Darcy started, but Loki and Thor laughed.

“There is no need,” Loki said, “Our servants shall have our travel chests ready for us in the morning.”

Darcy laughed. “I swear if someone took away all your servants you two wouldn't be able to function. What would you guys do if you didn't have servants around to tell you which spoon is for broth and which is for soup?”

The entire table burst into laughter save for the Odinsons who were boh thoroughly unamused.

“But while I have them at my disposal I guess I'll just get more sleep,” Darcy surmised. It was her turn to be laughed at.

“It is my solemn duty to tell you that no, you will not, Lady, Darcy,” said Thor, “You shall awaken before the sun and you shall be off before it breaks the horizon.”

“And before we can go you need to bathe and dress. Inga will style your hair, we shall have breakfast,” Loki ticked off each item on his fingers.

“Well in that case I'm going to bed now. Catch y'all on the flip side,” she told her dinner mates and left the hall for the evening. Loki stared after her, lost in thought of his own.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbeta'd.

“Knock, knock,” said Nick Fury as he entered the lab.

“Shhhhhhh!” came two harsh whispers. He saw a disheveled Tony Stark balancing precariously on a rolling office chair with a metal piece of machinery in hand while Jane and Bruce stood on the floor below him, their hands up in case he should fall or drop the object. Tony was reaching high to try to place the metal in a slot at the very top of the portal generator.

“Don't let him kill himself, guys. It's too much paperwork. We're at the six-month mark now so I'm looking for a major update. Soon.” Fury called as he left the lab. He heard a yell and a crash behind him but did not turn around.

“Oh, he landed on his face,” he heard Jane say.

“He got it in!” said Bruce.

“That's what she said,” said Tony before passing out.

x

X

x

The following morning Darcy awoke to a light knock at the heavy doors.

“Prince Loki, Lady Darcy,” a young man's voice called, “It is time for you to awaken. The carriage is prepared and your horses await.”

“Thank you,  Ă larr,” Loki called after letting out a yawn. Both he and Darcy arose and prepared themselves in the dimness of the morning with only a brief kiss and a hurried acknowledgment to one another that it was too damn early.

Darcy's outfit was a simple pair of riding pants and a loose-fitting muslin tunic with a wide belt. Inga was waiting for her when she was done getting dressed and she wove Darcy's thick locks into a fishtail braid down the middle of her back which Inga decided to toss tastefully over one of Darcy's shoulders, letting wispy tendrils of loose hair frame her face. Camera ready. All the time. She was beginning to think that she would never get used to it.

Darcy quickly put on a pair of tall leather boots and she and Inga left together to find Loki.  
The women met with Loki and his servant Ălarr who awaited them in the hall and they all had a quick breakfast before making their way to the front. A parade of warriors, including Sif, more servants, and horses awaited them, and in the center of the throng was a carriage drawn by several huge Asgardian steeds.

“A carriage? Really?” Darcy whispered to Loki.

“You will become weary of riding, darling. You will find it a welcome sight very soon,” he told her and helped her into onto her mare, Domino.

They were off in no time and soon the company was treated to the sight of the rising sun that burst forth from pink and green cloud-streaked skies. Darcy was grateful for the cool morning air that helped her awaken quickly; she was able to catch fleeting glimpses of wildlife and the multicolored leaves alight with the morning's rays. Although she had seen some of it while she, Loki, and her friends were in the Flagsylph Forest, she wanted to catch as much of the flora and fauna that she could while she was outside of the castle walls. She let her mind wander as their horses clomped on, and she realized that in the hurry of dinner the night before and of breakfast this morning, she never asked about their destination.

“Where are we going?” Darcy asked Loki, “I thought that you guys traveled by Bifrost to get everywhere.”  
“Bifrost is certainly the most convenient method of transport but it is not the only one. There are passages to most of the realms all over Asgard,” Loki explained. He drew his steed to ride directly next to hers while they conversed.

“ _Most_ of the realms?” Darcy asked. The tiny pink blossoms of a cluster of nearby trees were falling slowly over the party like a kind of soft, warm snow.

“We have not found one that goes directly to Muspelsheim yet, but it is a rare occasion indeed in which we find ourselves in need of safe passage to Muspelsheim anyway. It is the home of fire demons – nasty beasts, really.”

“What about Hel?” Darcy asked.

“What about it?”

“What is Hel 'the land of'? On Earth there are a lot of people who believe that Hell is where you go after you die if you're a bad person,” she explained.

“The only passageway to Hel is through one's own death and it is believed to be the land of the dead. No one living has ever ventured there entirely and returned the speak of it. The only reason why we know it exists is because of those who have died, caught fleeting glimpses of it, and then returned to the land of the living to tell the tale.”

Darcy rolled the information over in her mind. “Are there passages to other realms on Earth?”

“Yes. In fact, where we are going, Alfheim, is riddled with passages to your world. It is no wonder that almost every culture on Midgard has tales of faeries and elves – most of them are based, in some way, in truth,” Loki told her.

The guards and servants who could her the conversation were silently amazed at the prince's demeanor. Most of them had known him as a spoiled child for so long that it was now odd to see him so calm and rational. It was a difficult thing to believe for some of them. For others, who had touched true love themselves, did not find it to be difficult to believe at all.

Darcy and Loki continued on like this for the remainder of the morning, discussing back-and-forth the different realms and how they have impacted one another. Darcy learned that a tsunami on Vanaheim long ago was responsible for much of the water on Earth today, and that Niflheim's constant winter and close proximity to Earth could technically trigger an ice age for Earth at any time. The procession stopped for lunch and Darcy did find that, as she jumped down from Domino, her legs and lower back were worse for the wear after the 6-hour horseback ride.

After their lunch Darcy rode in the carriage, which turned out to not be nearly as bumpy as Darcy expected. It felt more like a smooth ride on a coaster train, really. She drifted in and out of lazy naps, occasionally drawing the curtains back to watch the scenery go by. Their surroundings had changed from the colorful forests of Asgard to rolling meadows of brilliant green grass dotted with yellow flowers. Onward they traveled until suddenly the carriage stopped and Darcy peered out to see that they had come to a fork in the road. Between the two roads was nothing but more meadow – but the air between the two roads seemed to catch the light of the setting sun differently than its surroundings.

Slowly Darcy felt the carriage move again and was startled to realize that half of their band was gone. Those who remained were trudging forward into the air between the forked roads two-by-two. As they entered the lightly shimmering space between the fork in the road they disappeared, and even though Darcy knew that they had reached the passage to Alfheim she was still nervous for the experience. Closer and closer the carriage was drawn toward the span of shimmering light and she become steadily more anxious. Finally she saw her carriage headed through the shimmering light -

\- and felt nothing at all, except for the shock of her surroundings changing instantly.

Where the sun was setting in Asgard it was rising in Alfheim. Delicate tendrils of fog crept around the tall blades of grass that lined the well-beaten path that their company traveled marched upon. Sif had the guards stop for a headcount to ensure that all present should be there, and while they all waited Darcy got back up on Domino to have a perfect view of Alfheim's scenery. The guards gave Sif the all-clear and everyone continued onward.  
The seafoam-blue grasses brushed against the horses' legs as they trudged along the path. Wild mushrooms showed in blotchy white patches at the bases of sparse trees that dotted the landscape, while the trees themselves were resplendent with yellow leaves. One could hear the scurrying of animals every so often, and a family of little fat birds that looked suspiciously like quails crossed the path of the procession, causing everyone to cease their journey forward. Only when the birds were safely off of the path did the guards continue onward.  
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was all that?" asked Darcy.  
"The elves are very protective of all living things, especially those that have no true means of which to defend themselves against those of us at the top of the food chain. We must respect the law of the land while we are here, even if their customs vary from ours," explained Loki.  
Darcy nodded in agreement. At one with nature? That was pretty awesome.

"Where are all the people?" she asked.

“They live in the thicker forests amongst the trees. We have not yet reached the outer hamlets, but we are close,” said Loki, “You will know when we reach civilization. The children run up to the path to gawk at the strange Asgardians.”

Darcy smiled and stretched as much as she could while riding on a mare. Although Darcy's body told her that it was later afternoon, the crisp Autumn morning of Alfheim helped her to forget and filled her with renewed energy. The winding path required more skill and concentration in guiding Domino than she was used to and she found herself lost in though traversing the path. The next thing Darcy knew they had indeed reached the outskirts of the tiniest town she had ever seen.

The homes of the elves were unlike anything Darcy had ever seen. The very trees bent and curved to form natural dwellings high off the ground. Rope bridges connected the homes to one another and the tiny village was alive with noise and boisterous activity on the ground, at the base of the trees, where the elves went about their chores and trading of goods.

Just as Loki had predicted, a few tiny elflings ran up to the procession, their eyes wide in wonderment. Their bodies were slight, their limbs delicate and their hair ranged between shades of spun silver and blackest pitch. Their pale, almost-translucent hands waved as the Asgardians rode by and the Asgardians all waved back, causing the children to laugh and run back to their parents' skirts. The elves gave the company kindly smiles and small nods of greeting before getting back to their morning chores.

Darcy was enamored instantly.

“This place is like the freaking shire, except, you know, no hobbits,” Darcy whispered to Loki. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, giving her a small, albeit confused smile.

Sparse dwellings dotted the trees as they continued on until they came up on a thick forest with one narrow pathway that required the company to proceed single-file. For almost an hour they rode this way. The light filtered through the thick grove of thin trees, casting sharp rays in so many lines across their faces. Darcy was just beginning to get used to the zigzag pattern of the sunbeams flashing across her vision when the thick forest ceased almost as abruptly as it had began. The band was suddenly in a clearing blessed with complicated white-and-blue flowers that looked like alien stargazer lilies and just beyond the clearing a well-populated town began.

Loki halted the party. He dismounted from his steed at once and helped Darcy off of hers.

“I shall show Lady Darcy Ljosalfarland while we rest for our evening meal,” Loki told Sif, who insisted upon accompanying them with several other guards for their protection.

The pair stretched their legs with a walk across the large clearing and they had not even reached the dirt roads of the town yet when an elvish child had already spotted them, squealing with excitement for her friends to come look. The little elf offered Darcy a white-and-blue flower which the princess-to-be gladly accepted, placing it in her hair and continuing with Loki to the beginnings of what appeared to be a bazaar. It was only when she was amongst the locals did Darcy realize just how tall the adult elves were – every one of them was Loki's height or even a little taller with graceful limbs, silent steps, and lithe fingers. Some of the women wore thin dresses with sleeves that reached the ground, others favored tight-fitting bodices and leather pants meant for rangers. Some of the men wore simple dresses with thicker fabric and others chose mid-length jackets with high collars and long breeches. Many carried baskets of flowers, grains, berries and breads whose smells made Darcy's mouth water.

Loki and Darcy approached the first stall in the bazaar, a makeshift structure that looked like it had just been constructed that very morning. It contained jars and vials of every size and color, and Loki explained that the vendor specialized in poisons. Loki purchased a tiny vial, slipping it into his jacket and the pair moved on to the next shop made up of a wheelbarrow and some large wicker baskets containing cold food and balms. A hand-cart next to it had an intricate method of displaying the gifts and glassworking it held for sale, and upon further inspection Darcy noticed that the shop folded up on itself to become much smaller. She and Loki purchased their dinner/breakfast (breakfast for Alfheim but dinner for the Asgardians) at the next shop that had vegetables, fresh fruit, and honey for sale – the vendor, a handsome, muscular elf with long black hair prepared a meal of spiced vegetables in a savory sauce that was better than any Chinese food Darcy had ever eaten. There were stalls containing items infused with magic, charms, talismans, and enchanted weaponry. Loki in particular was interested in a fine set of silver daggers while Darcy spied a beautiful staff made of a rich dark wood with an opalescent jewel at the top. The final stall at the end of the long, twisty bazaar contained varied elvish fashion including dresses, jewelry, bodices, breeches, tunics, vests, and boots. Darcy fawned over several of the items and, to her surprise, Loki purchased every single one. He had spent what Darcy thought to be probably more than a year's salary from her job with SHIELD back on Earth at that one stall, coming away with jewelry, a few dresses, and a pair of leather boots with slightly pointed toes that were adorned with several small silver buckles.

Sif raised an eyebrow at Darcy when she saw the purchases and smirked, but said nothing. Darcy gave her a big guilty grin right back. The other guards loaded the purchases into the carriage.

They continued on with their journey in relative silence, but when the sun reached its peak in the sky Darcy finally asked the question that is universal to any long road trip in any realm in the universe.

“Are we there yet?” she asked, yawning.

“We are very nearly there,” answered Loki, who was beginning to sound equally as weary.

The company followed the winding dirt roads to the center of the labyrinth that was Ljosalfarland. The crowning jewel of Alfheim was at the center of the elf city, where lived a single enormous tree, taller than any redwood, whose thousands of branches were bent and shaped to form what appeared to be a wooden castle. The band reached the base of the North Palace and dismounted; a group of elves came outside of the massive trunk of the tree at its base to greet them. They helped the ladies down from their horses and used magic to gather their luggage, floating it into the gargantuan tree-castle. Sif and a few Asgardian guards followed suit, then Loki and Darcy, then servants, and the head guards brought up the rear.

The interior of the massive North Palace was even more impressive than the outside. The ceiling was several stories high and the grain of the inside of the tree trunk was clearly visible with its swirled lines, which were highlighted by enchanted floating orbs that littered the ceiling and cast a subtle light across the room. Tinier faerie lights flitted about here and there in the air and a few of them hovered a few inches off of the ground to guide foot traffic. Paintings, fountains, and potted flowering plants dotted the walls and hallways as did a single elvish sentry at the entrance of the castle, who watched with great interest as the Asgardians paraded by.

Darcy and Loki followed their escorts up several winding staircases and down one very narrow hallway that spilled openly, without a door, into a massive suite with a stunning view of of the city below. Loki saw that his fiancee was exhausted and led the guards and elvish escorts out of the room to discuss some of the finer details of their visit while Darcy collapsed onto the bed, relishing the feeling of the soft down against her aching back.

“Why the hell I chose travel on horseback almost the whole way here is beyond me,” Darcy said as Loki came back into the bedroom. Darcy studied his face; his weariness was apparent and he peeled off his jacket before sitting on the edge of the bed. He pulled off his boots and flopped backwards onto the pillow with a heavy sigh and draped a lazy arm over Darcy's waist.

“It is worse than I imagined,” said Loki.

“What is?”

“The elves' situation. They need much more manpower than they have.”

Darcy raised a puzzled brow. “But this city, this castle – how do they have the manpower for all this, then? How badly can this tree be damaged when it looks so awesome on the outside?” asked Darcy. She rolled to her side a propped her head on her hand, and trailed her other hand in a line upon Loki's tunic.

“Thanos managed to destroy much of the castle's root system, which is where the Soul Gem was stored along with the rest of the elves' best weapons and magical artifacts. In doing so he murdered several dozen of the elders. The trouble there is that the oldest elves also had the most potent magic, so healing the castle will require more magic than they have available. Without its root system intact the castle will wither and die within a few short decades,” Loki explained. He closed his eyes and ran his hand lightly over Darcy's.

“Oh wow, I had no idea. Well damn. What are we going to do to help them?” asked Darcy.

“We will likely end up sending some of our best sorcerers, myself and my mother included. The winters of Alfheim are generally quite mild, but the land is giving forewarnings of a harsh winter to come so the repairs must be expedited,” said Loki.

“And when do we negotiate all of this with the elves?”

“In the morning. They have given us time to become accustomed to the 'jet lag' as you would call it. We shall dine with the queen tomorrow morning and then I shall confer with and her counsel while you and your ladies-in-waiting take a tour of the North Palace,” he told her.

“Wait,” said Darcy, who sat up, “I'm not going with you to talk about what we're going to do to fix their tree house? I thought I was supposed to be learning how to do all of this ambassador stuff.”

Loki opened his eyes and looked up at her. “Normally you would, but my reputation with the elves is not the best – the queen is only seeing me because they are desperate and I am here in an official capacity. News of my 'rehabilitation,' for lack of a better term, has traveled far indeed. The queen has requested to speak to only me until you and I are officially married; apparently she does not trust that I would follow through with a marriage to a mortal and she does not wish to become... attached. Not until you have partaken in an apple. The queen can be quite emotional, really,” explained Loki.

“So why am I even seeing her at all? Didn't you say we're all having breakfast together tomorrow?” she asked.

“She still has to _meet_ you, Darcy, at least for propriety's sake. Asgard would take it as an insult to the realm if she refused to see you at all.”

Darcy rolled his words over for a moment. She was slightly disappointed that she would not get to see what interstellar diplomatic talks looked like in action – her Political Science degree would have finally come in handy - but she was a little relieved at the same time. Her training in foreign affairs was still new and she certainly did not want to be the one dumb human that said the wrong thing and started a war that Earth would not be able to handle. Although, Darcy doubted that the elves would war with beings as insignificant as humans.

Darcy yawned and stretched. She felt tired, almost too-tired, but her brain was racing at light speed and when she shut her eyes she found that her mind would not quieten long enough for her to even come close to slumber. Apparently Loki felt the same way because suddenly he arose from the bed and strode to a cupboard on the other side of the room while Darcy watched after him with curiosity. He opened a cupboard door and revealed an array of bottles and jars inside, and after searching for a moment he found what he appeared to have been looking for. A few short moments later he came back to the bed and handed Darcy a tiny shot glass of a shimmering pink liquid.

“This-” Loki said, holding his own little shot glass up to her, “Is Beinisofta. This shall put the both of us into a restful state,” explained Loki. “We must be ready to fall asleep when we drink it for it works quickly.”

“So we'll sleep through our jet lag, basically?” Darcy asked, taking the tiny glass from him with two fingers. The liquid inside swirled against the glass like a dancer through a thick fog.

“Yes. This will keep us from awakening in the middle of the night so that we shall be refreshed when we see the queen on the morrow.”

“I'm ready. Let's do this!” said Darcy and knocked the drink back in one shot. It tasted the way honeysuckles smell, Darcy thought briefly before an overwhelming weariness washed over her. Loki followed suit and by the time he set his glass on the bedside table Darcy was already asleep. Soon he was as well, snoring gently with the afternoon sun high in the sky.

x

X

x

_Loki sat up in bed, the two bright moons of Alfheim staring at him through the window from the blackest night sky. Darcy stirred next to him, mumbling something unintelligible and rolling over in an attempt to get back to sleep. Loki arose from the bed and walked slowly down the hallway to the normally-door-less exit of the room to find that it had been sealed off – where before was the door-less entrance to the second hallway that took one to the main castle was nothing but more tree trunk which blocked his path. Loki went back to the bedroom and tried to leave through the exit on the other side but found that it, too, was blocked by a solid piece of tree trunk._

_A sudden chill washed over the god of mischief as he realized what was happening._

_“Darcy, wake up!” Loki said. He leaned over her, shaking her shoulder gently._

_“Query?” asked Darcy, and Loki gave her a quizzical look._

_“What?” said Loki?_

_“Wake up in the morning, I dreamed a dream and we were dancing in the moonlight,” Darcy mumbled._

_Loki studied her for a moment._

_“Darcy, the barrier between our dreams is acting oddly, I cannot understand anything you are trying to tell me,” Loki said._

_It was Darcy's turn to give him the quizzical look._

_“This must be just like living in paradise. We're running with the shadows of the night, Loki,” said Darcy and she sat up in bed motioning for him to sit with her. He sat directly in front of her and she inspected his face carefully, as though she might find the answer to the riddle that was Loki's odd speaking somewhere there._

_“And by the way you are looking at me I suppose you cannot understand me either. No matter,” said Loki, rising once more from the bed. A puzzled Darcy simply watched him as he strolled over to the cupboard, pulling out a different jar from before – this was a jar of a silvery white liquid. He opened the jar and dumped the contents into the air, where it was held in suspended animation. Loki pointed at the gravity defying liquid and looked back at Darcy, begging her with his eyes to understand._

_“We are dreaming,” he told her slowly. He ran a few fingers through the floating liquid and it swirled around in the air, the substance still not falling to the floor as it should._

_Realization dawned on Darcy's sleepy face. “Sweet dreams are made of this?” she asked._

_“Yes. Dreaming. I have never done this with a mortal before; there is a definite learning curve,” remarked Loki. His attention fixated on an orb of faerie light in the room that was gradually becoming brighter._

_“We are awakening,” Loki told Darcy, who did not understand him. He made an exaggerated motion toward the ball of light and opened and closed his eyes to pantomime awakening. The ball of light grew brighter with each passing second._

_“Blinded by the light,” Darcy said, her eyes fixated. Loki smiled, understanding finally that she was speaking in song lyrics having recognized this one from his short stay on Midgard._

_“Indeed,” Loki smiled and they both watched the ball grow brighter and brighter until it was all they could see._

x

X

x

Loki and Darcy awoke with a start at the same moment and found themselves staring at one another. The light of the early morning poured into their suite, the bright orb that was the sun had just cleared the horizon and was now fully visible in the sky.

“What the hell?” Darcy mumbled.

“That,” said Loki, and he paused to stretch, “was an Asamtdraumr.”

“That's a mouthful. What were you trying to tell me? You know, other than it was just a dream. Scared the hell out of me at first,” Darcy said as an afterthought.

“That is all that I was trying to tell you - just that we were dreaming. I have not shared a dream with another person since I was a child, and certainly never with a mortal,” he told her. He sat up and blinked, allowing himself time to adjust to his newly-vertical position. “It is something of a mind connection. My sorcery, magic, whatever you wish to call it is always active and occasionally will attempt to present itself to those I feel most comfortable with.”

“Oh I see how it is. You can bust into my dreams with your weirdo Klingon speak but I can't bust into yours. Rude,” Darcy said jokingly and he smiled down at her.

“When we build the foundations of your sorcery, after you partake in an apple, I can teach you this as well, my lady,” he told her and he leaned over to kiss her forehead. “But first things first. We have a queen with whom we must dine, and then you have a full day yourself.”

She rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathtub, studying it for a moment, trying to discern how exactly one would activate it. After a few minutes and an amused grin from Loki as he watched her try to figure it out, Darcy stepped inside of the tub to see if there was something she was missing and when her feet touched the bottom of the bathtub it began to fill itself. The bathwater was crystal-clear and the perfect temperature and Darcy lazed in its warmth, almost falling back to sleep in its clear water when Inga announced herself from the hallway. Darcy wrapped in towel quickly and, seeing that Loki was decent, bade that Inga come inside.

Inga carried a few hair supplies and a dress for Darcy which she laid out on the bed. She got to work on Darcy's hair, artfully styling it into soft curls

Darcy's ensemble today was ornate and clearly meant for special occasions. The cool golden silk clung to all the right places and flowed freely at the skirt, which reached to the floor. There were clusters of tiny emeralds in the bodice and the neckline was cut so that it bared collarbones and shoulders. Matching green and gold jewelry were placed in Darcy's hands, but some pieces Darcy did not recognize and for the life of her she could not figure out where they were supposed to go. Inga assisted Darcy, working some of the jewelry into her complicated hairstyle and two in particular that wrapped behind Darcy's ears and came to rest on each of her temples, framing her eyes in elaborate golden ivy leaves with swirled vines.

“What are these for?” She asked Inga.

“Symbolic,” the woman replied. “The colors symbolize the fierceness of Asgard and your connection with Prince Loki; the jewelry is elvish and symbolizes the partnership of the two realms. It is a great honor to represent Asgard in any way, especially one of an official capacity.”  
Inga finished with Darcy's tendrils and took a step back, admiring work.

“Inga, it's beautiful,” Darcy breathed, enchanted by her own locks reflected in the mirror, “You have a gift.”  
“Why thank you Lady Darcy,” Inga replied and gave her a kind smile, softening the normally hardened features of her face. It was short-lived, thought, when she put her hands on her hips and said, “Now off with us or we shall be late!”

Loki and Darcy made their way to the dining hall, followed by a group of servants and Sif who followed behind them in two neat rows. The hall had high ceilings and enormous windows that granted diners a view of the mountains in the east. The view itself was so breathtaking that Darcy almost didn't notice the a tall, tan elf-woman sitting at a massive oak table in a regal high-backed chair who studied the Asgardians in the few precious seconds it took for them all to take in the surroundings of the room.

“Welcome,” said the queen, “Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”

Loki bowed and smiled at the queen, laying on more charm than Darcy had ever seen from him. The queen herself seemed to receive it well and bade that they sit and dine with her. Darcy took a seat between Loki and Inga.

“Loki Odinson, might you introduce me to your lady love?”

“Eulalia, queen of Alfheim, mother of the woods and keeper of the Scrolls of Svartalfsheim, I present to you my betrothed, Darcy Lewis of Midgard, sworn defender of the peace of New York City and keeper of the Great Taser of Puente Antiguo,” Loki deadpanned. Darcy, miraculously, was able to keep a straight face and bowed her head and smiled at Queen Eulalia while the queen returned her smile.

“I bid you welcome to our realm, Darcy Lewis of Midgard. Thank you for traveling the great distance to meet with us on this day,” said she.

“You have a beautiful world. I have never seen a tree like this one – how old is it?” Darcy asked.

“The North Palace was a sapling when I was born, only twenty feet tall at the time. That would make it approximately 50,000 years old,” the queen told her and Darcy let out a low whistle.

“Indeed, it is the crowning jewel of all of Alfheim,” said Loki and the queen granted him a pleased smile. He raised a glass of some kind of juice to make a toast. “To the North Palace.”

“To the North Palace,” Darcy, Queen Eulalia, and the servants echoed, raising their own glasses.

An elvish servant with the prettiest blonde hair Darcy had ever seen placed a single tiny yellow berry in front of Darcy and the others and she watched Loki to see what exactly, one was supposed to do with it. She watched as Loki gingerly speared it with his fork and ate it, as did the queen, and Darcy did the same.

The tiny yellow berry tasted like every food Darcy had ever enjoyed all at the same time. She could catch snippets of flavors and textures, and the volume of the food was much more than that of the single little berry she had just consumed, satiating her hunger almost-instantly. Loki looked to her and winked.

“Why Queen Eulalia, I do not think Lady Darcy has ever had the pleasure of tasting an Everberry, although there is something like it from whence she hails. In my travels to Midgard I heard tales, whispers really, of a man known only by the name of Wonka,” Loki said, and glanced around the table. All eyes were on him and from his periphery it was clear that Darcy had frozen in her seat. He continued, “This sorcerer was the overlord of an enchanted land that produced the most succulent delights, including a sort of confection that was in many ways like the delicious Everberry. When one would consume it it would take on the properties of a three-course meal with some occasionally-nasty results,” he told the queen who was enraptured by the tale. Darcy's mouth quirked up involuntarily and she literally bit her tongue to keep from laughing.

Darcy shot him a look, she hoped subtly, that screamed 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!'. He grinned at her and she was amazed that she did not laugh, and instead smiled in a show for the queen.

Darcy cleared her throat. “Um, your majesty, that was delicious, thank you so much. I've never had anything like it.”

“Mine tastes like Snozzberries,” said Loki offhandedly and an involuntary giggle escaped Darcy's lips. She coughed to cover it and succeeded and quickly changed the subject.

“How long do you think your talks will last this morning, Queen Eulalia? My _darling_ fiance here has promised to take me on a tour of your castle when he's done.”

“That is hard to say, Lady Darcy. All of Alfheim is grateful for whatever assistance Asgard can offer but it could be lengthy to determine the finer details. Please give my deepest gratitude to King Thor upon your return,” said the queen. Loki's face lost its amused undertone at the mention of his brother and he arose from his seat.

“There is much to discuss. Let us begin.”

“Agreed,” nodded the queen. Everyone at the table stood to leave the room and the queen turned back to Darcy. She took Darcy's pale hand and whispered in her ear, “I am not sure what you have done to change him, Darcy Lewis of Midgard, but know that it is fleeting. Never forget who Loki _is_.”

With that the queen, Loki, and the palace guards left together, leaving a stunned Darcy standing behind her chair with Inga staring at her.

“Lady Darcy? Are you well?” Inga asked.

Darcy blinked once and shrugged off the comment. “Never better,” she smiled. “Have you ever been here before?”

“Aye, once when I was a girl like you. I fell hard for a young elf and...” Inga said and her eyes glazed over in thought until she shook her head in an effort to dispel the memory. “Well, no matter. Prince Loki arranged for a guided tour by one of Alfheim's representatives. Ah, here he is now.”

The sentry that Darcy saw when she first entered the North Palace entered the dining hall and Darcy, Inga, a few servants, and Sif gathered in a group and followed as he led the company throughout the whole of the castle.

The elvish sentry walked silently ahead of the Asgardians and Darcy found herself remarking to Sif and her ladies-in-waiting on a fountain or a peculiar type of climbing vine. Finally after an hour Darcy asked their tour guide a question and he ignored her completely, continuing with his gait and never even slowing his pace. Sif and Darcy exchanged glances but said nothing. Darcy kept talking but Sif did not appear to her her; Sif's eyes were narrowed as she watched the elvish sentry-turned-tour-guide ahead of them. Sif seemed to realize that Darcy had been prattling on about something and she turned to face the princess-to-be.

“What did you say?” asked Sif.

“Oh, I was saying that Loki and I had a crazy dream last night. Like he and I shared a dream. Together,” explained Darcy absentmindedly while she inspected a beautiful purple flower with spiky dark green leaves.

“You and Loki shared an Asamtdraumr?”

“Bless you. Yeah, that thing. Loki told me about it this morning.”

“Darcy, that is very rare. I've never even heard of it being done with a mortal. I'm starting to see your relationship in a new light, Darcy Lewis,” said Sif while she appraised her friend.

“There is something you must see,” said the tour guide and Darcy and Sif ceased their conversation. The passed an intricately carved fountain down a long hallway. The guide opened a heavy wooden door and ushered the ladies inside.

“Um, I think this is a store room,” said Darcy and immediately they all heard the door close with a heavy thud followed by the snick of a lock being pushed into place. Sif drew her sword instantly and Darcy followed suit. They both circled around the ladies-in-waiting for protection and awaited an immediate threat that did not present itself. Darcy kept a lookout for enemies in the small storage close while Sif worked on the locked door to no avail.

“I should be able to easily break it down, but...” Sif said as she kicked and beat the door with all of her strength. “This is no use,” said Sif finally, “It has been sealed with sorcery. I cannot break it down. But-” she said as she put her ear to the heavy wooden door, “I think I can hear the fountain. That means that anyone passing by should be able to hear us, too.”

The women waited for only an hour before one of passing elvish guards heard them banging on the door and yelling for freedom. They could hear the guard mutter some words from the other side of the door and he was finally able to get the door unlocked.

“Lady Darcy, the queen has requested to see you at once,” the guard said when he saw that Lady Darcy was amongst the occupants. There was no indication that he was at all concerned about the fact that the women who had all been locked in a store room.

“What is the meaning of this?” asked Sif and she drew her sword, pointing it at the guard, “Why did your guide trap us in there?”

“That is precisely what Queen Eulalia wishes to discuss with Lady Darcy,” said the elf. He stared at Sif until she lowered her weapon a moment later. The elf took in a deep breath and looked to Darcy.

“Prince Loki has been kidnapped.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've been lazy about putting out chapter updates, which is ridiculous since the entire story is already written. I have zero excuse. But my dears, I am going on a trip starting tomorrow and I'll be out of the country for a while, so to make up for the lack of updates (and the fact that I won't be around for a while) I'm putting out two new chapters today. Enjoy!
> 
> Un-beta'd.

Darcy, Queen Eulalia, Sif, and both head guards of Asgard and Alfheim were seated at a long wooden table in a large, windowless room in the North Palace and discussed the disappearance of Loki.

“He got quiet; he began to look pale. He then excused himself from our negotiations. I had a servant escort him to his room and I sent a guard to fetch you, which seems to be about the time the imposter locked all of you in a storage closet. While the servant and Loki were in route to his rooms, the servant revealed herself to be an Asgardian woman in disguise. According to eyewitnesses she made a show of revealing herself and making certain everyone knew who she was before she, the imposter tour guide, and Prince Loki disappeared into thin air,” explained Queen Eulalia.

Darcy was pale as a sheet. “Does anyone know who she was?” she asked in a small, trembling voice.

Queen Eulalia and her head guard exchanged a look.

“I'm afraid we do. The person who took your betrothed is an Asgardian sorceress by the name of Amora, known by many as the Enchantress.”

Sif's eyes grew wide at the name and she let out a breath she had been holding.

“We must get back to Thor and Frigga immediately,” said Sif. She stood and pulled Darcy up by the arm.

“What? Who is she? Do you know what she would want with him?” Darcy asked. Sif looked between her face and Queen Eulalia's, who waited for Sif to speak with great interest.

“She's a troublemaker, Darcy. She has history with almost everyone in Asgard and none of it is good. Thor will need to hear of this at once. We must go,” explained Sif.

“Ride swiftly,” the queen said and Sif and Darcy left.

Within a scant quarter hour Darcy and her entire company were off. Darcy sat in the carriage with her ladies-in-waiting and looked out the window at the glorious scenery. She recognized numbly that it was probably beautiful, but none of it touched her soul. She felt as though the bottom of her stomach had dropped out and several times along the way she felt certain that she was going to be sick.

“Calm yourself, Lady Darcy,” said Inga after Darcy had once again opened the window of the carriage to cool her face and gulp in fresh air. “Prince Loki can take care of himself.”

Darcy nodded, her eyes vacant and lost in thought. She wished she could find the mercy of sleep, but her mind raced at light speed with thoughts that would not allow her the luxury of a nap.

The journey home seemed much quicker than it had on the way to Alfheim and Darcy spent it all in the carriage, silent. The scenery blurred together and it was raining in Asgard when they passed through the passageway between the two worlds. On any normal day Darcy would rejoice that it was raining; this day the rainfall went barely noticed by the princess-to-be. Even though her body refused to let her fall into blissful unconsciousness, her mind drifted in and out of focus.

Before long they were already pulling up to Castle Asgard and Sif waited for Darcy before the two marched into the palace to find Thor. They found him speaking to a guard in the throne room and Thor dismissed the guard when he saw Darcy and Sif approaching.

“Thor. Loki is gone,” said Sif. Thor's face became solemn and he turned to Darcy.

“Darcy, I am so sorry. Did he leave a note before he departed?”

Sif and Darcy looked at one another and comprehension hit them both at once. They looked back to Thor.

“Thor, he didn't leave me. He was kidnapped,” Darcy said.

“Oh, thank goodness. By whom? What happened?”

“Amora,” was all Sif said.

Thor's face turned from concern to one of pure annoyance. “Amora,” he echoed with a grimace.

“Apparently she revealed herself to several elves before disappearing with Loki in a grand exit. A very 'Enchantress' thing of her to do. Oh, and she had another man with her who was disguised as an elf; she used him as a distraction for us while she kidnapped your brother. I would wager my life that this is all a scheme to get you to come to her,” Sif said. Thor rolled his eyes.

“We must see my mother at once. Sif, I will need you to gather the warriors-three, please. Heimdall!” Thor called, knowing that the gold-clad man could hear him. “Please meet with us. We have much to discuss.”

Sif left and Darcy followed behind Thor at a half-run.

“Thor,” said Darcy. He did not seem to hear her, so lost was he in thought.

“Thor. Dude,” she repeated. With every step Thor seemed to become angrier until finally Darcy tapped him on the shoulder to stop him.

“I really need to know what's going on here. I'm freaking out! Is he in danger or what?”

“I do not believe he is. Amora the Enchantress has been nothing but a vain, petty annoyance in the past. A thorn in all of Asgard's side for far too long, which is why we must see my mother. She and my father banished Amora but they never mentioned to where. Honestly, no one really cared to ask,” said Thor.

He and Darcy continued on until they found Frigga who was reading in the garden. Frigga laid eyes on Darcy's face and here eyes widened in alarm.

“Lady Darcy, you are so pale,” Frigga said, taking Darcy's hands into hers, “What happened? Where is Loki?”

“Mother, Loki has been kidnapped. By Amora the Enchantress, of all people,” Thor told her. Frigga's eyes narrowed.

“Will that girl never cease her scheming?”

“At appears that she has not yet. We must rescue him,” Thor told her.

“This is probably a ploy to get you to come to her. She has always had eyes for you, Thor,” Frigga told him with a mother's knowing smirk.

“That's exactly what Sif said,” Darcy chimed in.

“It is true. Ever since they were children, when-”

“I apologize for interrupting, mother,” Thor bit out, “but we must make a plan to rescue your son. Will you please accompany us in meeting Heimdall and the warriors-three in the gathering room?”

Frigga nodded once and off they went. Heimdall, Sif, and the warriors-three were all waiting for them in the gathering room, which was a tall, circular room with a huge round wooden table in the center surrounded by plush chairs. All took a seat to discuss their plan of action. Thor spoke first.

“Allow us to briefly get you caught up, Darcy. As Sif told you, Amora the Enchantress has a history with Asgard. She is a talented sorceress and loves power almost as much as she loves her own pretty face. She is petty and vain, but by the same token she is cunning and calculating. Amora will always exploit an advantage when she can and will run from a fight she knows she cannot possibly win. But,” said Thor and he looked around the room at the faces of his friends and family, “she is indeed a skilled sorceress, and a force with which to be reckoned. If she wants something she will stop at almost nothing to get it.”

“And we think that she took Loki to lure Thor to her? Is that not super-creeper status?” asked Darcy. She could not tell if she was calming down or if her nerves were so shot from being stressed out that she was adjusting to the situation.

Volstagg answered her. “Her infatuation with Thor runs deep indeed, Lady Darcy. Amora has held a candle for Thor since-”

“Since when,” interrupted Thor, “do we need to know why Amora has Loki? All we know is that she has him and it is a slight against Asgard itself. I shall not stand idly by while Loki suffers; we must go. Mother, to where did you and father banish her?”

“We sent her to Nornheim to apprentice under Karnilla. We had hoped that she could provide the structure and discipline that Amora so desperately needed. That clearly did not turn out as we had hoped,” Frigga answered. “Heimdall, are you able to see her?”

“I can see ten trillion souls in all the nine realms, and not one is hers. Or Loki's, for that matter. Her powers have grown greatly since last we saw her,” said Heimdall.

“Then we must seek out Karnilla,” said Sif, “We should leave immediately.”  
“Agreed,” said Thor. “Darcy, mother, we shall return with Loki soon.”

With that Thor rose from his chair, but Darcy stopped him.

“Yeah, I don't think so big guy,” she said. “I'm coming with.”

Thor stopped where he stood and looked down at her.  
“Absolutely not. Darcy, I know you worry as do we all. But you are frail in your mortal form and I do not dare risk losing you along the way. There will be dangers untold,” Thor told her.

“And hardships unnumbered, probably. I can hold my own, Thor. Sif's been training me. And I can't sit here in the castle hoping everything turns out all right when I have it in me to help out. I can do this, Thor,” she said.

Thor opened his mouth to argue but he was cut off.

“She has to come with us,” agreed Sif quietly. “She and Loki have shared the Asamtdraumr. Darcy may be able to tell us exactly where Loki is if Karnilla doesn't know where Amora is anymore.”

The entire room was silent and all eyes turned to Darcy.

“The Asamtdraumr? Are you sure?” Thor asked. Sif nodded once. Frigga looked at Darcy with new eyes, seemingly appraising her in a different light than before.

“That's what Loki said. Guys, it wasn't really even a big deal; I could hardly even understand him anyway. But yes, I want to come with you guys. I'll go crazy if I just sit around waiting,” explained Darcy.

Thor looked to Sif.

“I've trained her myself. She can handle it,” Sif told him.

“Fine,” said Thor after a moment. “We must all rest first; the journey to meet with Karnilla will be a long one.”

Most of the group dispersed except for Heimdall who motioned for Thor to stay behind as well.

“My king, I must inform you that the Lady Jane shall arrive in Asgard very shortly. Days. They have discovered the means to maintain a constant stream of energy to keep the doorway open,” he said, “Midgard's own Bifrost,” he added, almost to himself. Thor's face was unreadable at the news.

“Jane will kill me if I wait for her to get here and then leave to rescue Loki. I thank you for the news, my friend, but I am afraid I will have to leave in the morning. All the more incentive to come home sooner,” he told Heimdall.

“As you wish.”

x

X

x

The following morning Darcy bathed and dressed quickly before heading to the dining hall for a much-needed breakfast. She found that while she had not been hungry the day before from the stress of Loki's kidnapping, a good night's sleep and the determination to find him brought back her appetite with a vengeance. She entered the dining hall and Thor, Sif, the warriors-three and Frigga were already there. On the table was an impressive breakfast buffet.

“Best part of any rescue mission,” said Volstagg, “Asgard's chefs always put out a spread for us the morning of our journey's start.” Darcy smiled at him and filled her own plate, then took a seat between Frigga and Hogun.

“I wish you the best of luck on your journey, Darcy,” Frigga said. “I must tell you that I am quite pleased that you and Loki are close enough to share the Asamtdraumr. Between you and me, Odin and I frequently share the Asamtdraumr as well. It is a wonderful way to remain close to your love even if you are great distances apart or, in my case, separated by unconsciousness.”

“Do you ever know when your husband will wake up?”

“I never do,” said Frigga.

Darcy did not know what she could say that would possibly comfort Frigga, so she simply nodded in acknowledgment.

When everyone was finished with their meal they all rode out together with supplies that the servants had packed for them and Sif had double-checked. The band of friends headed for the mountains of Asgard and it was only when they were halfway across the pass of one peak was Darcy awake and alert enough to ask what lay ahead of them.

“First and foremost we must gather a gift for the queen of Nornheim, as Karnilla prefers to be called,” Thor explained.

“Nornheim? This is actually the first I've ever heard of Nornheim. Where is it?” Darcy asked.

“Nornheim is a region in this very realm. It is a beautiful, colorful place. I know you will like it,” said Thor with a smile.

“But I thought your dad was the king of this whole place. Why is she called the queen and why do we have to get her a gift?”

“Odin is indeed the king of all of Asgard and the protector of the nine realms,” said Fandral, “But Karnilla is a very powerful sorceress. Sometimes she is friend, sometime she is foe. We prefer her to be friend. So we call her the queen of Nornheim to stoke her ego and in return she leaves Asgard alone. And one does not arrive at the doorstep of the queen of Nornheim without a gift unless that person wishes to have their head removed from their body.”

“Gotcha. So we get her a present and she tells us where this Amora lady is. What kind of gift do you get for a sorceress?”

“A powerful one,” said Thor. “Her favorite payment for information is a flower that holds the very essence of fire, the Atall Laufsblad. It literally translates to 'Fierce Leaf'.”

Darcy nodded in acknowledgment. She did not catch the apprehensive looks exchanged between Sif and the warriors-three.

x

X

x

Loki awoke in darkness with waves of nausea crashing over him. He moved to feel around his surroundings, but the combination of the movement, nausea, and adrenaline caused him to retch uncontrollably over the side of the bed upon which his captors had lain him.

“The prince awakens,” came a voice to his right. A light came on and Loki's eyes closed tight reflexively to shield themselves against the harsh brightness. Loki fought off another wave of nausea that pounded at his skull. He slowly worked them open and found himself staring at a stark-white ceiling in a small prison cell which was walled in by glass on all four sides.

A large, muscular man approached the glass and peered down at Loki's clammy, sheet-white face. The disinterest on his face stood out even more than his reverse mohawk. The bulky man looked behind him at someone that Loki could not see.

Loki tried feverishly to remember what had happened earlier, how he had come to be here. He had felt sick, horribly sick, and then someone had helped him.

Someone had helped him.

Suddenly Loki remembered everything.

He tried to use his magic to burst through the glass cell walls but found that the tendrils of energy that flowed through his mind could not reach beyond the tiny cage in which he found himself. He heaved a shuddering sigh.

“Are you just going to lurk in the shadows as you always have, or will you reveal yourself to me, Amora?” Loki called weakly.

“Is that really how you greet an old friend?” said Amora the Enchantress and indeed she did step out from the shadows. He turned his head slightly and caught sight of her. She was the same as he had remembered: same long, voluminous golden hair, same pretty face framed by a flamboyant green headpiece, same skin-tight green bodysuit and boots, same vain, arrogant smirk.

“When I see an old friend I shall endeavor to show you how I greet them,” said Loki, panting with the effort, “Where is Darcy? What have your done with her?”

“Loki Odinson, cavorting with a mortal. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. Your pet human is down in the dungeons with the others until she has served her purpose. And you would do well to mind your manners, serpent. We wouldn't want you to end up like him,” Amora said and she nodded her head toward the cell next to him. There was a massive body that lay unmoving on the cell floor.

“If you speak the truth, Enchantress, and you have my betrothed captive in some filthy dungeon, I will end you. Slowly.”

“Oh, temper, temper Loki. She is merely collateral. Not a single hair on her head shall be touched if you do better than  _ he _ did,” said Amora, nodding again at the body in the next cell.

“In fact, Skurge, darling,” she crooned and ran a finger up the arm of the large man with the reverse mohawk and Loki rolled his eyes when he saw Skurge practically melt at her touch, “Get rid of that big purple wretch for me, would you?”

“Yes, my mistress.”

“You have got to be kidding,” said Loki. He willed himself to sit halfway upright against the glass wall to confirm his suspicion.

Skurge hoisted the battered and bloody corpse of Thanos the Mad Titan over his shoulder with some difficulty and trudged out of the room with it.

Loki was silent for a moment and heaved a great sigh while Amora watched him, her arms folded.

“Why?”

“Because he didn't play nice,” she said simply.

“How long before that idiot out there realizes you're using him until you can finally convince Thor to be with you? That's what all this is about,” Loki spat.

The smile trickled away from Amora's face at the mention of Thor.

“Actually that's where you're wrong, Silvertongue. What this is all about -” she paused and drew in a deep breath. “I need your help.”

He simply stared at her, an annoyed eyebrow threatening to arch so high as to leave his face. She looked through the glass into his eyes, her face showing a vulnerability that had been hidden for years.

“It's Lorelei, Loki. It has always been Lorelei.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd.

 “This had better work, Stark.”

Nick Fury, Phil Coulson Jane, Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Clint stood around the portal generator while Tony was in the background about to switch on the power. The Avengers were suited up in their full gear to present themselves to Asgard as Earth's mightiest heroes. Jane's apprehension rolled off of her in waves and she took in a deep breath to calm herself.

Everyone in the room heard the machine rumble to life and a deep, low whirring sound steadily became so loud that they all could feel the vibrations through their shoes. Slowly the center of the portal generator turned opaque white, then solid white, then an image slowly spread in the center. Gradually, maddeningly gradually Asgard came into view and set in the dead center of the image was the Asgardian man dressed in gold. Jane was shocked to discover that he met her gaze steadily and for a moment she felt silly looking at him so expectantly. There was no way this man could see her.

And yet he gave her a single nod.

A thrill of excitement coursed through her and without a moment more of hesitation Jane ran through the portal before anyone could stop her. The remaining occupants of the room exchanged looks briefly and Fury rolled his eye. Typical.

“Looks like we're going in after her,” he said and turned to Tony. “Stark, since you know how to fix this thing when it breaks you'll need to satay behind in case it closes.”  
“Right,” said Tony.

Fury blinked once, unable to believe that Tony agreed without a fight but he did not question it. Fury, Phil, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint all walked through the portal, one at a time. After Clint disappeared into the portal Tony looked down at his red-and-gold Iron Man suit and then over at a nearby lab assistant.

“Hey kid!” he called. She looked up from her clipboard. “You see this red button? Push it if this thing turns off, okay?”

The lab assistant was so taken aback that she only nodded dumbly as she watched him stroll casually through the portal.

x

X

x

Darcy hadn't known what to expect on a bona fide rescue mission, but the presence of absolute routine was not what she had had in mind. Darcy and Sif kept up on Darcy's training each morning. The pair would eat, bathe separately from the men, and spend an hour or so simply getting exercise and keeping up on footwork and sparring.

Thor, Darcy, Sif, and the warriors-three traveled through parts of Asgard that Darcy had never even heard of: a marsh that will render one insane if one were to touch any moss that grew there, for example. A few days into their journey they passed a deep lake, and from the water breached something that looked like a small whale.

“A trupheloppe,” said Thor.

“It looks like an elephant with fins! They're kinda cute. You guys have mer-elephants? Merlephants?” said Darcy, “That's nuts.”  
“Nasty beasts. They slither up on the shore and eat children if they get too close,” said Fandral.

“And the bubble is officially burst,” commented Darcy and the band rode on, all admiring the sparkling lake in the midday sun.

They rode on in silence for a while longer until Darcy spoke again, “How much longer until Nornheim?”

“Another week or so,” answered Sif.

“I'm bored you guys. Entertain me,” Darcy said half-jokingly while she steered Domino around a grouping of boulders in the middle of the roadway. She did not expect Fandral to launch into full blown story-mode.

“I have a story that may entertain you, Lady Darcy. When we were young, your betrothed used to join us on all kinds of adventures with us. Once, Lady Sif, the princes, and we warriors-three went exploring in the rocky hills of Vanaheim on a bright summer's day. We found a cluster of caves that Hogun expressed interest in-”

“Come now, Fandral, that is not how it happened!” said Thor with a wide grin, “As I recall,  _you_ were hoping to get lost in one of the many caves with Sif and-”

“ _Anyway_ ,” continued Fandral while Sif rolled her eyes, “We poked around the entrance of an oddly-shaped cave and discovered a small, dirty door. Loki offered to head inside first and he did, daggers drawn and prepared for anything that may come our way. Inside we were amazed to discover a complicated maze of rooms, all of which seemed to be a shelter for elicit and black market activities. We decided to back away from the discovery slowly before anyone spied us, but a group of roguish ragamuffins happened upon us and brought us to see the man who lead these knaves-”

“-Hold up,” interrupted Darcy, “Are you telling me that the aliens took you to see their leader?” asked Darcy with a quirk of a smile playing at her lips.

“Indeed,” said Fandral, not understanding what she was getting at but continuing on with the story anyway, “The leader of the ragtag band of men was a great, brutish man and he was partaking in a bit too much-”

“- Ale, wine, Helberry blooms...” Volstagg chimed in.

Fandral grinned. “Aye, he was quite drunk and luckily for us he was in quite a good mood. 'Please me and I shall let you go' he said to us. Now none of us really wanted to know exactly what he meant when he asked us to please him, but Loki took action immediately and drew all eyes in the room to him to get us out of the situation. He conjured a barrel from naught but thin air and jumped atop it, balancing on it as though he had done it for his entire life.”

Thor's raucous laughter stopped Fandral from telling his story temporarily while Thor remembered the image of Loki on the barrel, all eyes on him. Thor wiped tears from his eyes and motioned his hand for Fandral to continue with the tale.

“The leader of the rogues seemed amused, but it was not enough and Loki saw it in his face, so Loki began to sing limericks- limericks!” he said and started laughing himself. “Loki picked on the men that brought us to the leader in clever sing-song rhymes, jesting at everything from their noses to the legitimacy of their births. The leader looked much like Thor does now and his face was so red from drink we thought he might fall unconscious right then and there. Loki hopped off of the barrel and took a flourishing bow with a devil's grin and the leader of the rogues clapped, allowing us to leave. We all turned and made our way out of that cave, but at the mouth of the cave we were met by the same band of men.”

“They were so furious with Loki's off-color songs about them that-”

“I'm telling this story, Thor,” grinned Fandral, “Indeed the men did not take at all kindly to Loki's jests and decided that they did not want the Asgardians to leave unscathed. But we were all in fine form that day and we dispatched of them easily. We left them at the mouth of the cave for their own cohorts to find them after, of course, placing them in same very compromising positions in their unconscious states.”

Darcy and the rest of the group were laughing hard by the end of the story. It felt good to have a long laugh after so many days of worrying and feeling stressed about where Loki might be and what could be happening to him. Her smile faded a little as she remembered that Loki was the reason they were all out there to begin with.

“Those were good times,” said Thor and he sighed with a smile as he drowned in a flood of good memories, “I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for me, Darcy Lewis. I thought my brother beyond redemption.”

“We all did,” said Sif and Volstagg and Fandral nodded. Hogun stayed the same, silent, grim warrior he had been during the entire journey, simply listening to the conversation around him.

“Mother did not,” said Thor. The mood of the group had grown less cheery.

“Guys, it's not something I tried to do. It just happened,” Darcy explained, and she was silent while she thought for a moment. “He told me one time, when he first started talking to me, that he thought he broke. Just one day something snapped.”  
“That's about right,” said Thor, “Our father should have told him of his parentage long before that fateful day when we traveled to Jotunheim seeking revenge.”

“It wasn't fair,” said Sif, “He always knew he was different. We always knew he was different, deep down. We could feel it. But no one ever chipped away at what it was, we let him get more and more distant from us.”

Thor's smile was completely gone, replaced instead by a hard, grim line across his lips.

“We should have known.”

“Um, guys, how could you have known? Your mom and dad kept that from everyone and no one knew. What could you have done?” Darcy asked as they approached the apex of a large hill on their steeds.

“Of course you are right, Lady Darcy,” said Volstagg.

The friends were silent as their weary horses trudged up the unforgiving slant of the hill, but when they reached the top the view took Darcy's breath away.

In the middle of a brilliant green valley a single lake lay that seemed to have warring forces of ice and fire that cut through its center. One half of the lake was a deep crimson and the other a startling, frosty-blue, and where they met in the middle the colors swirled together but never made a shade of purple. The tendrils of color stabbed at one another, trying to gain purchase on each other's side, but where one arm of red made its way onto the blue half, an equal sliver of blue took its place on the red half. The colors then would return to their original places, watching each other, waiting for the moment they could safely strike again.

“It's like a screen saver,” breathed Darcy.

“It is truly a sight to behold,” said Thor, “Legend holds that this is the birthplace of all the nine realms from Ragnarok.”

Darcy blinked. “Ragnarok? Isn't that like the apocalypse?”

“Something like that.”

“So the apocalypse already happened?”

“Many legends hold that Ragnarok is simply the end and beginning of a cycle. The nine worlds are reborn and we all live, many many times, changing and growing with each new cycle. I have no doubt that we have all known one another before this time and this place in this universe, Lady Darcy, and I have no doubt that again we shall meet,” said Thor.

“That's beautiful, Thor,” said Darcy and she blinked away a tear that had formed in the corner of her eye.

The group decided to stop for their midday meal and Darcy gazed upon the breathtaking lake, lost in a deep ocean of thought.

x

X

x

“Welcome to Asgard,” said Heimdall.

Jane Foster stared up at him, opening and closing her mouth twice. Her brain was trying to take in everything all at once- the mostly-finished observatory, the sprawling starry universe that surrounded them, the golden castle in the background that loosely reminded her of a church organ.

“Hi,” she answered, unsure of what she should do next. She realized that she had thought so long about getting to Asgard that she did not think of what she would do when she actually  _got_ there.

“I advised the queen of your coming several days ago and we have summoned guards to escort all of you to the castle,” said Heimdall, and she felt is burnt-orange eyes peer into her very soul.

“All of us? Oh, my friends aren't-”

“Doctor Foster!” said Nick Fury's voice from behind her and she winced. She had not actually expected him to come after her. After him came Phil, Steve, and Bruce, who were looking around them with varying degrees of fascination.

“Director Fury,” said Jane as she turned toward him, “This is, um...”

“Heimdall, guardian of the Rainbow Bridge,” the golden god answered as Natasha and Clint appeared out of thin air in Heimdall's observatory.

“Please excuse us dropping in like this, Mr. Heimdall,” said Fury. He looked around at the team and realized that the observatory was beginning to become crowded.

“It is of no concern. The queen awaits your team's arrival as guests of the palace.”

At that moment they all noticed several guards in bright golden armor coming down the glittering, almost-repaired Rainbow Bridge. They all looked at one another and slowly began to walk toward the guards, unsure of their own footsteps on the translucent glass-like bridge but picked up the pace as they gained confidence. They had almost reached the guards when heard they heard a familiar voice.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Tony said as he landed next to Steve and walked with the group.

“Dammit, Stark!” said Fury, “I knew it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd.

_ Loki awoke in a glassed-in cell with a start, blinking a few times and trying to remember where he was. Recognition at his surroundings crept at the edge of his mind, willing him to recall, but try as he might he could not bring himself to know this place. He studied his surroundings, and although the lights were dim he could make out a small bed in one corner upon which a figure lay. He peered at the unmoving figure and saw a familiar shock of brown hair against pale skin- _

_Suddenly Loki remembered everything._

_“Darcy,” he said, sitting on the edge of the bed and kissing her temple gently. She stirred slightly and he shook her gently, urging her to awaken faster._

_ “Darcy, you must awaken; we must speak,  _ now _ ,” said he. _

_Her eyes fluttered open and snapped to him. She sat up immediately and threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. He returned the embrace and closed his eyes, allowing himself this brief moment of reprieve._

_“Did she harm you? Are you comfortable wherever she has you locked up?”_

_Her brows knit together in confusion. “At least I know I'm free,” she responded._

_“Free?” he asked. “You're free?”_

_ “ _ _ I travel the world and the seven seas, Loki.” _

_ His eyes grew wide with panic. “You're  _ traveling _ ? Do not tell me that Thor took you with him on a journey to find me. Darcy, you cannot do that! You must stay at the castle, where it is safe!” _

_Darcy watched, confused, as Loki spoke gibberish and looked panicked. He registered her confusion and took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself._

_“I know you don't understand anything I'm saying, but I need you to look,” he said, and he pointed to his eyes and then waved a hand at the rest of the room. She followed his hands and took in their surroundings, squinting her eyes in an attempt to see through the dimness. She stood and walked in a circle around the small cell, peering out of the glass into the a stone, circular room. A small window across the room showed nothing but star-lit sky._

_“The highest room in the tallest tower,” whispered Darcy._

_“Exactly,” said Loki, “I also believe I'm being held prisoner in a tower of some kind. Tell my idiot brother where I am and have Sif take you back to the palace.”_

_Darcy let out an exasperated sigh and Loki saw her suddenly freeze and look at something behind him. One of the stars that shone through the window was growing brighter with each passing second and Loki knew that their time together was coming to a close as the brightness increased._

_“I love you, Darcy,” said Loki, knowing that spending time begging her not to come rescue him would be futile. They embraced one another and each could not their eyes off of the previously pinprick-sized speck of light as it grew larger._

x

X

x

Loki awoke in his glassed-in cell with a start, the silence of the night laying over him like a thick, woolen blanket. He swallowed harshly, his throat parched, while he sat up on the uncomfortably small bed. A weak, faint light filtered into the room from a tiny window and a glint of brightness at a corner of his cell caught his eye – on the ground was a plate of food and a tall glass of water. Loki leapt from the bed and barely had the presence of mind to inspect it, but he did, briefly, before gulping down the liquid greedily. He did not touch any of the food, but sat back against the frame of the bed and got his first truly detailed, undisturbed view of the room that contained the cells. It was circular and stone from top to bottom with a table and a couple of chairs across the room from his cell, almost like it was supposed to be a reading room that was clumsily converted to hold two glass prison cells. Not much to work with. Loki sighed and did his best to peer around his cage, inspecting in particular the wall of the cell where the food and water had been sitting. There was a sliver of faded brightness where the walls met one another and Loki ran a fingernail down it – sure enough there was a door. He was not able to open it, but it was something to file away in the back of his mind.

He patted himself – his daggers and vial of poison were gone. He stood and paced the cell briefly before sitting back on his bed, attempting to play with his magic when he heard the sound of rattling at a trapdoor in the floor of the round room. The other cell in the room that had previously contained Thanos blocked his view of the trapdoor so he had been able to tell where the entrance to the room was until just now. He waited for one of his captors to present themselves and was unsurprised when Amora rounded the corner to face him.

“Feeling better?” she asked him in a sing-song voice.

“Much. You've certainly increased your knowledge of poisons, Enchantress. I commend you,” said Loki as he studied his captor.

“I have had much time to study the magic arts and the not-so-magical ones as well,” she replied while she peered back at him through heavy lashes.

“It was tragic, Amora, what happened to Lorelei-”

“I do not wish to speak of how I lost her, Loki,” Amora bit out as a brief, furious rage danced across her face. She took a calming breath and steadied herself, slipping an easy smile back onto her face as she had done so many times before.

  
"Oh no?" asked Loki. "Then what  _ do _ you want to speak of Amora? It's clear that I have all day to hear it."

  
She looked at him silently for a moment and a bright flash of- he did not know what- excitement? Insanity? Flashed in her eyes.

  
"I wish to speak of how we can bring her back."

x

X

x

  
"He's in a tower somewhere," she explained as Thor, Sif, and the warriors-three listened. The band was eating breakfast the next morning and Darcy was excited to finally be able to share a dream with them.

  
"Were you able to see anything outside? Trees, oceans?" asked Thor. He popped a cherry-like fruit that Volstagg had foraged that morning into his mouth.

  
"No, we were locked in a cell," she said, "like a jail cell. Except it had all glass walls. For some reason I got the impression that Loki couldn't use his magic inside it."

  
"That sounds like Asgardian technology, and definitely something Amora would have developed to fit her needs," said Sif which earned nods of agreement from the men. They all rose to stretch from breakfast and continued talking.

  
"Well I guess some magic can get out if he can reach out and share a space-dream with me. He didn't seem injured, just weak," Darcy said.

  
"Then our suspicions are now confirmed. She fed him the tainted Everberry," Thor said, his face alight with realization.

  
Sif and Darcy exchanged looks. Neither of them had the heart to tell him that they had all known this since Loki first was captured. Instead Sif cleared her throat to stifle a laugh and continued with cleaning up their campsite.

  
The friends saddled up and set out for the morning. Only a few hours into the day's journey Thor pulled to the side of a winding dirt road that forked into two very different paths. One led down a gently sloping valley where the bright sun shone and flowers spring forth uninhibited in the meadows. The other path led up a curving, jagged blackened mountain which Darcy could only describe as "Mount Doom-esque."

"Let me guess," Darcy sighed, "we're going up Satan's Rage Mountain?"

"Yes. The Atall Laufsblad grows atop it. Keep out a wary eye; this mountain is filled with unsavory creatures," Thor warned.

  
Darcy groaned inwardly as they all followed Thor up the slope of the mountain. They rode in silence, each keeping a staunch eye out for whatever or whomever may be lurking in a blackened crevice or shrub-shrouded nook. After another few hours of riding Thor stopped at the suggestion of Sif who pointed out that they would need decent daylight in order to find suitable camp on the mountain. The last thing they wanted was to take cover in a cave that turned out to be infested with Kreplings.

  
Sif and Hogun began the fire for their evening meal while Darcy watched the sunset over the valley below. Although her surroundings were blackened and held their own wicked beauty, her eyes sought the bright colors of the rolling meadows and streams of the land. She watched for so long she almost did not notice that the sun had finally sunk below the horizon; rather, the shades of the sky melted into one another from a powder blue to angry pinks and oranges, finally settling on deep purples and navies. She snapped out of her trance when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

  
"Lady Darcy," said Volstagg, "Our dinner is prepared."

  
She smiled sadly from having just come out of a deep thought of Loki and joined them. They all ate quietly and stared into the fire. They all felt their muscles sing with relaxation, and by the time they were done eating they all looked nearly content. Fandral presented a wooden instrument the looked to Darcy like a panflute and began to play a soft melody. They stared into the fire and let themselves be lost and its sound.

  
"I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep but it is  _ way _ too early for that. Does someone want to tell me a story?" Darcy asked. Her eyes were closed as she rested her head against a boulder.

  
"I have another tale for you about Loki, if you'd like to hear it," said Thor. Darcy's eyes snapped open and she sat up, smiling.

  
"Any dirt I can get," she said.

"Many centuries ago we were celebrating a holiday called Idora-"

"Ah, this one! This one was good," said Volstagg. Sif and Hogan grinned at their own memories of the story they knew that Thor was about to begin.

  
"Idora is a festival with 10 glorious days of feast and song which includes exchanges of gifts and favors. It is not unlike the winter holidays celebrated on Midgard," Thor explained. "I had not thought too hard about what to get for Loki, but Idora was approaching quickly and I grew apprehensive. You see, Darcy, Loki is a very thoughtful gift giver and I wanted to present to him a gift that I knew would catch his eye. I set out to the forests of Asgard for the day to allow myself the clarity to think, and while I wandered along a stream a glint of something caught my eye. I waded into the waters and dove to the bottom to retrieve whatever it was. I almost drowned trying to get at it but eventually I caught firm hold of it and pulled it up to the surface. In my hand was a gemstone of deepest veridian and I knew that my search was over. I washed the muck off of it to discover that a millennia of water and sediment rolling over its surface had washed away its edges, revealing an oval stone better than any you could find in an elvish bazaar. I dried it, placed it in a pouch on my waist, and made my way home, quite proud of my accomplishment," he said, and Fandral stopped playing his instrument long enough to snicker.

"When I got home," he continued, "I wrapped it in a small gold-and-green box and forgot all about it until the first evening of Idora. The night of that first feast we sat beside our parents at the feasting table and exchanged gifts. He handed me a golden chest wherein lay an enchanted red cloak that was impervious to damage and where; I still wear it to this day," he smiled while he reminisced and unknowingly ran a finger down one hem of the soft cloth.

  
"And how did he like your present?" asked Darcy.

  
"He saw the box and gave me a look that clearly said 'Well at least you tried.' I grinned like a child while I watched an open it, and at first I thought he hated it when he saw it. He picked it up and ran it over his palms and looked over at me with what I think was the first impressed expression I've ever seen from him directed toward me. I felt rather proud of myself and we enjoy the rest of our meal. After the feast he fashioned the gemstone into a fine ring and wore it for the rest of the evening. The next day he still wore it at breakfast and even while he was out in the city, and that evening at one of the Idora celebrations Loki was approached by almost every woman there and even some men. He took it all in good stride and if I recall he ended up going up to his bedroom with one of the maidens-"

"Thor!" Sif said, "Darcy doesn't want to hear about that!"

  
But Darcy only laughed. "I really don't care. I mean before I met Loki I kind of fell out of the promiscuous tree and banged every guy on the way down."  
Thor blinked and Fandral stopped playing his panflute momentarily. Sif cleared her throat and Darcy only grinned wider. Finally Thor gave a good-natured and smile and kept on with the story.

  
"Every night of the festival was like that second night, but peoples' frenzies in Loki's presence began to grow and by the sixth day of Idora Loki could hardly walk around the palace without servants throwing themselves at him. Why, he had more than one marriage proposal in the streets of the city during that time if I recall. It got to the point that Loki could hardly leave his rooms without being accosted by throngs of women and men.” Thor said and the whole band was howling with laughter, “I must say, for as sure of himself as Loki can be sometimes I've never seen him more nervous in a crowd than in those few days.

“Finally mother went to visit him in his rooms and she asked what he had done to make it happen and he told her that he knew not. She studied him and spied the ring, asking him where he had obtained it. Of course he told her that I gave it to him and she took the stone from him, inspecting it with her keen eye. 'It is a Lover's Stone,' she told him, 'Something like a love potion' she said. She told him it worked better the more magic power one possessed, which is why it had worked so quickly for him. Of course she knew that he would think that I gave it to him knowing what it was and she explained to him that I had found it. I had told her of it in passing and she did not dwell on it, and mother asked Loki to forgive me since I did not know what it was. He forgave me, but for the next few weeks I kept finding serpents in my bedroom," Thor finished with a smile.

Darcy laughed, still imagining Loki trying to reject marriage proposals from people who are practically strangers. She settled and listened while the Asgardians swapped tales and songs about their youths and she felt a little less like an outsider looking in as the evening passed. She began to feel included.

  
x

X

x

  
"Amora, Lorelei has been dead for centuries."

Loki panted with the effort of speech. His face was still clammy and a sheen of sweat highlighted his forehead and cheeks even in the dim grey light. Loki stared up at her through the glass cell wall and he saw her face fall at the memory.

  
"And I have felt every lonely minute without her. But there is indeed a way to make it happen,” she answered.

  
Loki stood and crossed his arms, towering over her from behind his cell wall even in his still-weakened state. "Not until you tell me why you killed Thanos."

  
"And what care you for the fate of the Mad Titan? You thought him dead anyhow," Amora said. She took a few long, graceful steps across the room and picked up a thick book that Loki had not noticed before. He watched her caress its spine gently, lovingly, and filed away that glimmer of information for later.

  
"What care I for the fate of you and your dead sister? I have a feeling that you do not have Darcy in any dungeon or even in whatever realm we're in. You have no bargaining chips, Enchantress, and I am certainly not one of your many admirers," he sneered at her and she narrowed her eyes.

"Do not think that your magic can save you here, Loki Odinson. I can make you beg and scream just as Thanos did. And it would be in your best interest to at least listen; it might help you get back your lady love after she is done meeting with Karnilla," Amora said, and she smiled wickedly when she saw the color drain from his face. "Ah yes, the benevolent king and queen didn't tell you where I was banished? It matters little. For what it's worth Karnilla tried with me; she really did. But how well will she receive Lady Darcy when Karnilla finds out that she is betrothed to her most hated enemy?" Amora smirked and watched through narrowed eyes for his reaction.

But he did not give her the satisfaction. He kept a resolute poker face, his indifference rolling from him in waves. "It has been a long time since Karnilla and I had our little falling out. And the rest of Asgard calls for the queen of Nornheim to appease her ridiculous ego because of me. Besides, Darcy is with your object of affection, and Karnilla dare not hurt the  _ almighty king  _ of Asgard," Loki spat.

  
"Keep telling yourself that, darling."

  
"And what do you suppose could bring Lorelei back after all this time, Amora? Even if you could she would not be herself. She was barely a woman when she died," Loki reminded her. He sat back on his bed, leaning against the glass of the wall behind him. Even mild conversation was draining his energy; he could feel Amora's poison was still working itself from his system.

  
"True, but I have found a way around it. My sweet Skurge brought this to me from deep within the dark mountains of Svartalfsheim," she said and lovingly cradled the tome in her hands.

  
Loki peered at it more closely. It had a heavy leather cover and some scorched-on markings that he could not translate, but the depiction of the man in the center of the front cover gave it away at once.

  
"A book on inter-realm travel?” said Loki, and his hoarse laugh gave way to a shaky cough, “You've lost your touch, enchantress. There is a grand new invention called a Bifrost. You should look it up, I heard that even Midgard has one now."

  
"Not just one-way travel between realms, Loki. This book contains a spell that allows one to pick out a specific soul in Hel and recall it," she said, and her face appeared not unlike a rather pleased cat.

Loki uncrossed his arms and his eyes went blank for  a moment.

"Impossible," Loki whispered.

  
"That's what I thought, too, at first,” Amora replied. She opened the book and flipped nonchalantly through its pages, “but no, it's definitely possible. I simply don't have enough power on my own to bring her back, which is why I need you.”

  
Loki arched an eyebrow and glared at her through the glass, the shadows under his eyes deeper than usual. "And you thought that poisoning me and dragging me out to where ever we are would convince me to help you? I don't buy it, Amora that is not your end game.”

  
Amora smiled sheepishly at him while she thought over her response. "You were right, you know," she said. "I have always wanted Thor. And yes, you are convenient bait to lure him here to me. I need your power temporarily, Loki. But for what it's worth I had planned on letting you go this entire time. "  
"Oh, like you let Thanos go?"

"Thanos fought me every step of the way. I told him why I needed his help and he not only insulted me but insulted my sweet deceased sister. I got a little angry," she admitted. “Besides, isn't temporary insanity a defense on your precious Midgard?”

“It's not my precious Midgard. That my love hails from it means little at all to me,” Loki lied. “And you would do well to mind your tongue in front of Thor about Midgard. It's  _ his _ pet realm, didn't you know?”

Her face darkened. She knew.

She knew why as well.

“Either way,” she shrugged, “Think on it, Odinson. The faster you do the sooner you can get out of here, and maybe even reach little Darcy in time to save her from Karnilla's wrath. You  _ do _ recall how wrathful she can be, don't you?”

He did.

x

X

x

The following morning Darcy awoke slowly and comfortably. She slipped off her socks and allowed the chill of morning air in the shadow of the towering black mountain to touch her feet, wriggling her toes in a decadent stretch. She looked around to find everyone but one member of the party sleeping. Hogun was sitting on a boulder, staring silently upon the valley below where the rising sun already touched the rolling hills. His hair was down around his shoulders blowing lightly in the breeze. In the bleak shadow of the west side of the mountain, Hogun looked almost to be a stone statue, guarding over all.

Darcy arose and wrapped her blanket around herself, padding over to Hogun and plopping down next to him.

“Mornin'” she said. He gave her a nod of greeting.

“So what's your story?” she asked, “You're always so quiet.”

Hogun smiled and continued to look out onto the bright green valley. “One can learn much by simply listening.”

“Gotcha. The strong and silent type, that's rad. How long have you been awake?”

“For four hours now. Volstagg, Fandral, Sif, and I watched the camp in shifts.”

“Thanks, that was really nice of you. Sif said that there are some scary creatures on this mountain but I haven't seen anything at all. I feel like I'm walking on pins and needles waiting for something to jump out at me but nothing has yet,” Darcy said as she rearranged her blanket around herself.

“We had a few wolves so far, but nothing we cannot handle. No, the more ferocious of the beasts live toward the middle and top of this peak. Many of them are venomous, so we must all maintain constant vigilance,” he told her.

“Okay Mad-Eye,” she smiled, and he gave her a sideways look of incomprehension. “Hey, Sif's not up yet. You want to spar with me so I can get my practice out of the way?”

His answer came in the form of him knocking her backwards off of the boulder, catching her completely off guard. She let out a small squeak of surprise but caught herself after she flipped backwards once, not caring that her thin night clothes were letting in chilly morning air. She got to her feet immediately and moved backwards toward her sword, adrenaline pumping, but Hogun was already on his feet and advancing. Soon he had his own sword out and as Darcy reached down to get her sword off of her small pile of personal things he slashed at her hand, missing but causing it to automatically pull back towards herself. Hogun smiled as he slid the tip of his sword under the hilt of Darcy's sword and with a flick of his wrist, freed it from its sheath. Darcy's sword sailed in a high arc towards her. She was able to grab the hilt of the sword before it touched the ground.

“You should have your sword in hand whenever you issue a challenge, Lady Darcy,” he said, advancing again. This time she was ready.

Darcy stepped lightly over the obstacles laying around the camp haphazardly. She made her way away from the camp so that their sparring would not awaken anyone. She dodged thrusts and was able to come back a couple of times with her own slashes. She found that her fighting style had changed from what she was used to without any of her armor. She had to think more about how she moved her sword since it could leave her vulnerable, but she also had a greater range of motion and was lighter on her feet.

Back and forth they went and Darcy knew that Hogun was going easy on her. He was a skilled warrior, practiced over the course of centuries, but he was also a good teacher and seemed to know exactly how to push her to discover and work upon her own weaknesses. After an hour they were done, shaking hands and heading back to the campsite where the others had all awakened and were dressed.

After a breakfast of fowl that Fandral had caught and fruits that Volstagg gathered, they were off, headed again up the mountain. They made excellent time in the deeply chilled shade of the mountain, but as the sun crawled higher in the sky Darcy mentioned to Sif that their horses had begun to sweat in an almost froth-like way around their necks.

“They need to rest,” said Sif.

“Aye. We've ridden them for days with naught but the night to sleep,” Thor agreed, “But we're very nearly to the upper-middle of the mountain. They can stand a few more hours. These beasts are strong Asgardian steeds.”

The winding path up the mountain became increasingly narrow. By the time they reached the mouth of a cave they were all riding single-file, so they ended the day's ride right then and there and took shelter for the night in the large cave. Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, and Thor went inside to clear it of possible threats while Sif and Darcy stayed with the horses to ensure that nothing attacked the exhausted animals.

Thor returned after quite some time to give Darcy and Sif the all-clear and they led the steeds into the cave for their safety so that they could truly rest peacefully.

“That took longer than I expected,” Sif said while she, Darcy, and Thor traversed the cave.

“It was just as we expected,” answered Thor, “The place was crawling with Kreplings.”  
“Is it safe to assume that they're all taken care of?” Sif asked. They reached the other half of their party and got her answer simultaneously. Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral were setting up sleeping areas and in one nook of the cave was a pile of small, twitching bodies. One of the largest ones lay atop of the pile and Darcy was able to get a good look at it in the dim light- they appeared to be winged snakes with horns, only their teeth were about three times as large as any snake's Darcy had ever seen.

It was still early in the evening so the band settled toward the front of the cave for better light. They roasted a larger dinner than usual to break up the monotony that dinner was slowly becoming and they all ate their fill. After their meal Fandral broke out a skein of Asgardian Ale and a dice game, which Darcy eyed with a wary delight. Fandral offered to teach her to play and she accepted, so they all passed around the skein while they played a few rounds of a game called 'Horses and Heathens' before dousing the fire and calling it a night.

Darcy was pleased the next morning when Thor mentioned that it was their last day on the mountain, if all went well. They set out early after a light breakfast and the horses were refreshed and responsive. The winding pathways up the peak became even narrower and dramatically steeper, and soon they all continued their journey on foot after securing the horses in a safe, open area.

Up, up, up they climbed and Darcy ran into Thor's back when he stopped suddenly. They had come across a cluster of boulders and there, atop of largest one in the middle, was a bright red flower that seemed to be made of flames. Thor turned to Darcy slowly and placed a finger to his lips and then pointed down into the crevices of the boulders. Darcy saw something that looked like grey-blue skin on the ground instead of the dirt that should have been there and suddenly she felt the ground shift beneath her. Sif pulled her back to steady land as Thor jumped from boulder to boulder toward the prize at the middle and Darcy realized that the cluster of rocks were not rocks at all; rather, rock-like armor atop a gargantuan monster.

A monster that they had just awakened.

Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg, Sif, and Darcy all drew their swords in unison and watched while the creature rose from its slumber. It had four meaty legs, stony armor up and down its gigantic body, and a tiny head with beady black eyes that seemed almost to disappear in its face. It looked by all accounts like an enormous blueish stegosaurus.

Until you got to its teeth.

It whole mouth seemed to be made almost entirely out of rows upon rows of teeth. It salivated everywhere and its jaw was almost sickeningly unhinged, so full was it of needle-sharp fangs. It roared with annoyance as Thor jumped across its back and he had to grab hold of a boulder to keep himself from being thrown off. The monster reared its head at the company and they slashed at it, each able to draw thick black blood from its feet and ankles, causing it to limp. It stomped toward them and Thor finally had Mjolnir out, using it to fly to the flower. He secured it and rushed to the ground below to assist his friends who were busy trying to avoid becoming the giant's lunch. Thor landed and launched Mjolnir at its mass, knocking it backwards into the wall of the highest peak of the mountain and stunning the creature.

Darcy's sword was still drawn and she was prepared for more battle when she felt two hands dragging her backwards.

“Hey!” she shouted. Now that she was in the action she fought the hands off to stay in the fight. She glanced behind her and saw that Volstagg and Hogun were the culprits.

“The others will finish off the Jotuntonn, Lady Darcy,” said Volstagg, “They can take a hit or bite from it. You can't!”

“But-”

Darcy's words were caught in her throat as she saw Thor's in the air above her. He was staring at something and the look on his face made her heart stop - it held heartbreaking anguish and her eyes immediately shot to the monster.

It was chewing on something.

Volstagg and Hogun noticed that Darcy stopped fighting them and they followed her gaze to what had caught her attention and they both froze in unison. They let her go and ran at the monster and to Darcy everything seemed to be in slow motion while her brain processed what she was seeing. She took a head count- Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, Thor...

Sif.

Sif was missing.

The warriors let out furious battle cries and united in their affront on the beast, who had finally swallowed. Each warrior unleashed all they had and within a scant minute the creature was slain. The warriors looked around at one another as though they were baffled, unsure if it had really happened and unsure of what to do now.

Fat, hot tears poured down Darcy's face as she trudged numbly to the remaining warriors. Their heads were bowed in sorrow and out of the corner of Darcy's eye she saw the beast twitch.

“Guys,” Darcy sniffed. They looked to her and she pointed. It twitched again.

Their weapons were drawn again, heavy as they were in their hands, the weight of a hundred battles and fallen comrades-in-arms making itself apparent in the weary Asgardians. They all approached the beast's fallen body when suddenly a glittering silver sword burst out of it, through its center, slicing a clean line down its middle.

Sif tumbled out of the belly of the monster and she sucked in a greedy gulp of clean air. The party cheered and Sif grinned as she tried to wipe off sticky grey slime from her body.

“You thought I wouldn't make it out?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

Thor wiped away tears and dropped Mjolnir, embracing her in a crushing hug. “It  _ did _ have a lot of teeth.”

“I noticed,” she said and she glanced toward her left ankle. A hideous puncture had torn the flesh but did not seem to have hit any bone. Sif sat on the ground and Fandral handed her a clean handkerchief for her wound.

After Sif was finished tending to her wound Darcy approached her and hugged her hard before Sif had a chance to avoid the show of affection. After the briefest of pauses Sif hugged her back and the party helped one another back down the mountain toward the horses.

“Wait, wait, I have a question,” said Darcy as they made their way down the steep, rocky path, “Why the hell didn't Thor just fly up to the top of the stupid mountain and get the stupid flower to begin with?”

Thor grinned. “I've never actually had to retrieve one before. None of us knew what to expect when we reached it and I did not know if I could handle whatever it might be by myself.”  
“Thankfully we had Sif around to distract the Jotuntonn long enough to get a few good hits in,” said Fandral with a grin. Sif let a small smile play at her lips.

They reached the horses and began to ride immediately back down the mountain. The trip going down was much faster than it had been going up and the group was in such high spirits that they did not even mind riding straight through lunch. At the bottom of the peak that evening, though, the adrenaline had worn off. The band ate and rested, exhausted from the day's events. Sif applied some ointment to her wound, which had already begun to heal, and turned in early.

The next morning the party set out early again. Not one of them was anxious to spend any more time on the blackened mountain and there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief when they made it to the base in a couple of short hours.

When they reached the beautiful green valley they slowed their pace for Sif's wounded leg, and when they reached a crystal clear stream they all stopped to eat lunch and bathe. Darcy helped Sif lower herself into a crystal hot spring they had found and Darcy washed both of their clothes while they had access to clean water.

“The last thing we need is for that to get all infected and icky,” said Darcy as she gingerly pulled off Sif's boot for her. Sif winced with the feeling of the dirty cloth boot being pulled off of raw, barely-healed flesh but was glad for the assistance.

After they were done washing Darcy helped Sif get back to the horses, Thor, and the warriors-three, who had also just freshly bathed. They took up the saddle again and headed over the rollings hills of the valley, ending their day finally at the beginning of a thick, heavy forest. It took a full day to get through the forest and another to cross an enormous span of fields, but when they reached the and of that span they found themselves at the top of a peak that looked down into Nornheim itself.

“Wow,” Darcy breathed as she looked down into the valley between the crags. If the journey so far had been dotted with colorful scenery it was nothing compared to the valleys and mountains of Nornheim. The mountains themselves were a deep purple hue with a dusting of white-purple snow at the tops of the highest peaks. The sinking sun hit the valley at an angle, setting the mountains alight with bright pinks and fiery reds that made it seem as though the rocks themselves held the colors naturally.

But the valley of Nornheim itself was a sight to behold.

Lavender-colored flowers overtook the bottom portions of the mountain and one could hardly see the black path that led from the steep crags to the fields below for the bright flowers that grew over every available surface. The lavenders melted into luxurious fields of blue-green grass that then faded into fields of pastel yellow grass, and just beyond those grasses was a tiny hamlet hamlet nestled within the loving arms of the valley. A silent, shallow lake lay just beyond the hamlet and from what could be seen it looked as though the bottom of the lake was filled with millions of tiny rocks of every color. The setting sun added the final touch on the backdrop of the breathtaking scene while bright blue puffy clouds made the perfect pockets for the sun's rays to shine through.

“It is something,” Thor said as if to himself, but Darcy heard it and caught his eye.

“I've never seen anything like this,” she said, her eyes alight with awe. Her fingers instinctively touched the ring on her left hand and her smile fell; she felt the hole in her heart widen a little.

Thor gave her a sad smile. “You and your love will be together again soon, Lady Darcy.”

Darcy looked back at the rest of the group while they set up camp and she motioned for Thor to follow her away from the camp so that they could speak privately.

“I never thought I would be this person,” she blurted out.

Thor gave her a quizzical look. “What person?”

“You know, the person who feels like they're not whole without their boyfriend or husband or whatever,” she said. Thor watched her face as she wrestled with what it meant to her.

“It is one thing to hear about great love, Darcy. We grow up hearing tales about it, and we can even see it every single day between two people. But we still never fully understand what it truly means until we feel it for ourselves. Between you and me, there is a reason why some people refer to their partner as their 'other half'. It is because we do not feel whole without them any longer after their lives have brushed against our own. After you have shared a bond, a connection, like yours and Loki's or mine and Jane's, even a bond that seems to make no sense to those on the outside looking in, you will never be the same again. We all think that we're fine on our own, that we are whole, until we meet the person who shows us how truly wrong we were,” Thor said and he put an arm around her shoulder.

“I know,” she whispered, “I know you're right. It's just that... I've never felt so  _ alone _ . Even though I'm right here with all of you, I feel like I'm... I don't know... missing something.”

“And you will feel that way until you are together once more. I have not seen Jane for two years, now, and when Heimdall told me Jane and the other warriors were coming to Asgard just before we left on our journey, it shattered my heart to pieces when I realized we had to leave before they arrived.”

“Wait, wait, wait- what? Jane's in Asgard now?” Darcy asked, her tone no longer broken but rather strong.

“Well yes. It was only a matter of time before Jane had Midgard's Bifrost repaired.”

“And you knew she was coming?”  
“Indeed.”

“You jerk!” she said and placed her hands on her hips, “You know if Loki did that to me I would freakin'  _ throttle him? _ Do you have any idea how long she worked on that? How hard she worked to get here? And how much she missed you? And you knew she was coming and you left on a rescue mission just before she arrived? Oh my god, Thor, what the hell?”

“Darcy, I-”

“She is going to  _ kill  _ you when you get home!”

“Darcy, I know. I couldn't bear to see her after so long and then have to immediately leave her,” said Thor and he hung his head.

She opened her mouth to retort but she did not allow another sound to pass her lips. She couldn't berate him any more about it; he was like a sad little puppy. She sighed and looked up to the sky as if to ask for some divine assistance before she threw her arms around Thor.

“There, there, big guy. We'll be home soon.”

“Thank you, Darcy. And soon we will find my brother and we shall all journey home together.”

“Yeah, what you said,” she responded and smiled her first truly happy smile that day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for being so patient with this update. Un-beta'd.

Loki's head throbbed, and it was only the cool glass of water that appeared whenever he was unconscious that kept him from slipping into full-blown delirium. The time he spent staring at the same walls in the cell began to remind him of his time on Midgard; there not even single book to keep him company. Loki raised a shaky arm to wipe the sweat from his clammy forehead and tried to remember how long he had been in his cell – two weeks? Maybe? He had been asleep and feverish for most of it, and he and Darcy did not share the Asamtdraumr every single night, so he could not tell for certain.

One thing was certain, however: when he got out of this cell, he would see to it personally that Amora was destroyed.

x

X

x

"I am going to  _kill him_  when he gets home."

Jane sat in one of Castle Asgard's drawing rooms with all of the Avengers, Phil Coulson, and Nick Fury.

"Jane, it's not really like he had a choice. It sounds like they had to leave right then and there," said Bruce.

"Kidnapping is kind of a big deal," said Tony.

Jane took a deep breath and steadied herself. This was the first time she was going to meet Thor's parents and she needed to chill out. Act like a lady. Be impressive.

She was going to  _kill him_.

Nick Fury sat rigidly next to her. He kept wiping the palms of his hands on his pants and perking up every time he heard footfall near the entrance to the drawing room. When Queen Frigga was finally announced he stood immediately and introduced himself and everyone else.

"On behalf of Earth and SHIELD, we are honored to be guests in your home. Thank you for meeting with us," he said as he shook her hand.

The Avengers, Jane, and Phil all exchanged glances but made no comment on the new, pleasant demeanor of their director. When the queen turned away from him he shot them all a quick look that said 'So help me god if you mess this up I will hunt you down myself'. They all introduced themselves equally as cordially to the queen and avoided any possible fury from Fury.

"I have had rooms arranged for all of you; we have known of your coming for quite some time. I hope that you will eat, rest, and become acquainted with the palace and we shall speak soon. Now Jane, my dear," she said and Jane paled, "Will you please come with me?"

"Of course," said Jane, taking the queen's arm, and she gave a small wave goodbye to her companions as she was led away from the room. Tony mouthed 'good luck' at her with two thumbs up and she gave a nervous smile.

"Welcome to Asgard," Frigga said as they walked down the hallway, the clicking of their steps echoing off of the high stone walls.

"Thank you very much... your majesty," Jane said, stumbling a little over 'your majesty' and not quite sure what to call the alien queen.

"Frigga, my dear."

"Frigga," Jane echoed and smiled, "Thank you for meeting us. I know this must be a hard time for you, but can I asked what happened to Loki?" Jane asked.

Frigga's eyes grew sad. "Old ghosts, Lady Jane. A thorn in Asgard's side returned to us when we did not expect her. No matter, though; I have no doubt that Thor and the Lady Darcy will be successful in their mission to rescue him."

"Yeah, one of the guards that brought us to the castle told me that she was learning fighting from someone here. Is she any good?"

"Very. Although I expected no less from any woman who would become betrothed to my younger son. She would have to possess a fine mettle indeed to tether herself to him for eternity, and I mean that in the most loving way one can. Loki can be volatile, but your friend has quelled some of the anger in his heart," Frigga said. They rounded a corner and walked down some large stone stairs into a beautiful garden.

"Betrothed, huh? When did Loki propose?" asked Jane.

"My goodness, I forget that you have no inkling of what has happened when they first arrived here in Asgard. Let me fill you in..."

Jane and Frigga took lunch and eventually tea in the garden as they talked for hours. Frigga described how she first met Darcy and Jane marveled at the idea of snarky Darcy, who spoke sarcasm fluently and watched cartoons in her underwear, kicking ass in full armor. She missed her friend dearly and was surprised to find that she also missed Loki, whom she had grown almost fond of by the time he and Darcy leapt through the portal to Asgard.

When Frigga turned the conversation to the topic of Thor fresh anger flared up within Jane.

"I missed him so much. I wasn't even sure if we'd ever see one another again," she explained.

"He loves you very dearly and he was not happy to have to leave before you arrived. I think that if you had arrived before they were set to leave he would not have been able to tear himself away," Frigga explained.

"I understand. I just miss him," said Jane.

"He told me much about you, you know," said Frigga and she took a sip from her teacup.

"Did he? Hopefully it was good," Jane fidgeted with her napkin.

Frigga gave the girl a silent, appraising eye. "Of course. I am happy to have met you at last. Now," said Frigga as she rose from her seat, "You've had a long day. I will show you to your rooms and we will have a feast this evening to celebrate your arrival. I hope you enjoy your stay here; I know we will see much of one another."

Jane smiled and found that she was finally able to relax.

x

X

x

_Darcy awoke to the feeling of soft kisses on her neck._

_She let out a low, soft moan as she moved her head to the side to allow those lips deeper access to her neck and collarbone before she cracked opened her eyes. Loki was behind her on the bed as they both lay on their sides, his tongue and lips working its wicked magic on her neck while he ground his hardness into her clothing from behind. Her eyes fluttered closed again, but not before Darcy noticed that she and Loki were still in his cell, but it was different, somehow. The bed they were on was much larger and she realized that there were shackles attached to the frame of it._

_"So this is what your cell looks like now?" she asked, but he could not understand her. Instead he brought his head up from kissing her neck and she turned slightly to face him. His eyes bore into hers. They were filled with heat and need, and she stared back at him, each communicating their loneliness without saying a word. She felt his hard length pressing into her ass and it sent a thrill of heat into her core. She ground against him and he let out a low half-growl, getting back to work at pleasuring her neck._

_Darcy grew wet and thrust her ass backwards into him as much as she could, silently urging him to remove his clothing. It had been too long. With only the sound of their bodies moving together in the otherwise silent cell he worked her into a frenzy, his mouth working her neck as he began to move his hands from her hips to her breast, teasing a nipple. Chills erupted down her body and she breathed harder, finally breaking the spell by rolling over to face him and capturing his mouth for her own. He moved to overtake her but she would not allow it, instead she rolled atop him and Loki allowed her to hold his wrists down. She ground her hips onto his pants as she kissed him hard and he reacted by bucking his hips up once and sending a wave of pleasure throughout her body._

_Darcy moved down his body and removed her dominating hands from his wrists. She worked at his clothing, which she had become quite skilled at removing, and he watched as she allowed his length to spring free from his clothing, but she did not touch it. Instead she kissed, licked, and nipped at his thighs, teasing him. He growled in pleasure and clenched one hand in frustration; watching her play and tease was torture. When she knew he had had enough she finally took him into her mouth greedily, and he threw his head back at the feeling of her hot tongue swirling around his length. She worked him at a steady rhythm and he bucked his hips up into her mouth until she stopped suddenly, knowing that it was torture for him, knowing that he would long for more._

_She moved to the edge of the bed and removed her clothing; she could hear Loki removing the rest of his behind her. What she did not hear was him crawling stealthily across the bed toward her and she let out a quick shriek of surprise when she felt his arm snake around her waist and pull her backwards._

_Her teasing had worked him into a flurry of passionate hands and lips. Loki's mouth teased and sucked one nipple while his fingers worked their way to Darcy's center and she let out a low moan of pleasure when his fingers found her. She threw her arms above her head and closed her eyes, simply enjoying the feel of his sinful touch. She was so focused on what one hand was doing to her that she did not notice the other until it was too late- suddenly she heard the_ snick _of the shackle closing around both wrists._

_She gasped and opened her eyes and he grinned down at her. She arched her back into his touch, the unexpected move of domination fanning her flame to new heights. They maintained unbroken eye contact while he worked her, faster, harder, and she quickly unraveled around him. He let his fingers ride out her orgasm until she could stand no more and he brought his rough hands underneath her, holder her to him as they kissed._

_Loki let her rest for a few slow, precious moments before he slithered down her thighs slowly, making sure Darcy watched. She relished the feeling of the heavy shackles on her wrists and when he dipped his head between her thighs she tugged against them, feeling pure trust mixed with helpless submission while his silver tongue worked its magic. He started slowly, mindful of the powerful orgasm that had gripped her only moments earlier and worked at a steady rhythm, building up her heat for a second time. He looked up at her face, watching her, taking pleasure in her arousal and taking pleasure in her eyes begging him to continue._

_Loki pulled away suddenly and without warning, causing Darcy to whine at him. He kneeled on the edge of the bed, his feet hanging off over the side and his hands resting against his thighs as he watched her. Darcy breathed heavily and let out a frustrated sigh, giving him a look that both begged him and dared him to continue. He moved toward her and her eyes lit with anticipation._

_It was all he needed._

_He knelt between her legs which had welcomed him without protest. Darcy looked up at him, watching him watching her, and the his hard length teased at her entrance._

_Darcy nodded once._

_Loki slammed into her and she rocked her hips into the motion, letting him in as fully as she could and they both threw their heads back in pleasure. He allowed her only a moment to adjust to him when he slammed into her again rocking his hips back and forth, his lithe muscles shone pale in the dim light of the cell, tensing and relaxing, over and over. She could not help the moans of unbridled ecstasy that escaped her lips and she urged him in an incomprehensible to tongue to keep going, keep going, don't stop. He obliged and rode her until she came again, only then allowing himself to follow with a feral growl of passion that only drew out her convulsions and she clenched around him._

_Loki collapsed atop her and released her wrists at once. She brought her arms down and embraced him, their damp flesh gently sticking them together as they simply held one another, calming their breathing. They did not try to communicate, and instead they relaxed and held and touched and simply_ existed _together, if only in a dream, if only for a little while._

x

X

x

"Good morning, Lady Darcy! Any dreams?"

Darcy blinked a couple of times, squinting in the bright morning sun. Thor looked at her from across the breakfast campfire expectantly.

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah, no. No dreams," said Darcy

"Because it looked like you were having the most ferocious battle while you slumbered," Thor grinned.

"Yeah, uh, I was fighting that Jotuntonn again. He was easier the second time around," she said as she sat up. What she wouldn't give for ten minutes of privacy and a vibrator right then. Instead of lamenting she shook off the dream and got ready for the day's training practice, going through her morning routine that was beginning to become almost too common for Darcy's comfort.

When they set for the valley below that day Darcy took in the scenery anew. Where the view in the setting sun had brought out bright pinks and fiery reds the morning sun brought out cobalt and navies in the rock's coloring.

The crags did not look as though it held any roads at first glance, but there was exactly one easy pathway that led the party down into the valley of Nornheim. If a stranger or invader unfamiliar with the land were to attempt to find safe passage down, they would be met with winding switchbacks that led to nowhere and flimsy dirt that threatened to collapse under the weight of any traveler. One had to start with the rising sun just as it was halfway between dawn and midday, and were a body to know where to look, the shadows of gnarling trees and oddly-shaped rocks would point one to exactly where to lead their steed for safe passage into the valley itself.

"Loki was the second to discover it, actually," Thor explained to Darcy as they made their ways down the steady path, "Of course Karnilla herself was the first. She sought out a place where she could study and practice her magic in peace and solitude, and at the same time she aimed to make it very difficult for anyone who would seek her counsel, guidance, or assistance. She wanted them to prove themselves."

"And Loki wanted something from her?" asked Darcy. She led Domino to move next to Thor as the path widened a little, allowing them the room.

"Aye. She was a more powerful sorcerer than he at the time and he wanted to learn all that he could from her. So he went on the very the same journey we are on right now, found a gift for her, and traversed his way down the crags of Nornheim into the valley below, but he could not find her palace."

"Couldn't  _find it_? How hard can it be to find a palace in such a small area?" she asked, and she heard Fandral snort behind her.

"Set your gaze upon the valley below, Lady Darcy. Do you see a palace?" Thor asked.

She smiled at the silly challenge and humored him, looking over the edge of the rocky path into the hamlet below that grew closer with every step of their horses. She frowned and squinted, urging her eyes to see more but she could not find anything other than the small dwellings and the crystalline lake beyond.

"I'm not really sure where I'm s'posed to be looking..."

"You're staring right at it, right now," Thor grinned.

She searched harder and concentrated on every detail she could. Her eye caught something that told her brain that something about the scenery below was wrong, that should not be, but still Darcy could not put her finger on exactly what it was. Thor took pity on her and pointed toward the lake below.

All around the water the grasses and trees moved in the breeze that seemed to constantly move through the valley, but the lake itself was as still as death, as calm as a clear night sky.

"I... still don't see anything, but I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that the lake isn't affected by the wind," she offered in an almost questioning tone.

"Indeed. Her palace is invisible and there is a very simple trick to finding it. Respect," he said.

"Respect? I don't understand."

"One must have respect for the power that hides the palace; only then will the palace reveal itself to those who seek it. At the time my brother only wanted power to use, but he did not respect it, not truly. He wanted to shape any magic he could harness to fit his desires but he failed to see that the magic guarding that palace was not one to be used, but to be acknowledged and respected," Thor said.

"So what do you do when you get to the palace? Call it Mr. Palace and tip your hat to it just so?" Darcy quipped with an almost mocking smile.

"And this is why you two are so good together," Thor smiled, his eyes touching an old memory for a moment, "At the time he did not understand the power that he truly held. He came to Karnilla for tutelage but offered nothing in return but a mocking reverence for the secrets she knew, the power she held that he wanted to claim for his own. And when he did not respect the magic hiding the palace enough to even see it, Loki grew furious."

"I'll bet. This ride's been a total pain in the ass."

"He had a bit of a..." Thor said, his voice trailing off.

"Tantrum?" Sif offered.

"Fit?" said Fandral.

"Unparallelled explosion of rage that made the Destroyer back on Midgard look like a balled-up puffer-fluffin?" said Volstagg, and Darcy could not help but to laugh.

"Yes!" agreed Thor, "Yes, that one. In his anger he shot bursts of power and magic everywhere, just randomly, and ended up destroying half of the castle without even knowing it due to its invisibility. Karnilla herself chased him away, almost killing him in the process, and Asgard had a new enemy for a time. Karnilla caused all sorts of trouble for my father and our armies. Finally my father forced Loki to apologize to Karnilla and offer to help her to rebuild her palace, but she refused his assistance, instead opting to take up the title 'Queen of Nornheim' and dominion over this tiny area of Asgard. Father was not pleased to give the title 'queen' to anyone other than my mother, but her request was small and this area is so far removed from Castle Asgard that he acquiesced. Ever since then any sorcerer, magic user, or even part-time magician may live around this area to practice their craft, so long as they respect their magic and refer to Karnilla as 'The Queen of Nornheim.'"

"Oh wow," said Darcy, "Ego much?"

"Indeed, but she's earned it. Karnilla can be an excellent friend or a terrible enemy. We stoke her ego whenever we can to stay in her good graces," answered Thor.

"Hmm," said Darcy, and she kept her eye on the still waters of the lake while they continued their descent. She thought on the story of Loki's rage for the rest of the ride down the rocky path of the crags.

x

X

x

Loki awoke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, panting. His eyes rolled wildly in his head as he looked around in an attempt to remember where he was and it all hit him suddenly, the memories flooding him at once. The room kept going in and out of focus and he blinked rapidly to try to steady his gaze, but the room could not decide whether it wanted to be blurry or not.

Loki decided to rest his eyes for a moment, and after what seemed like a minute or so he opened them to find that the faint light that came through the window had darkened entirely. He looked to the corner of his cell where he usually found water and was not disappointed- not only was a fresh glass awaiting him, but a vial of what Loki instantly recognized to be an antidote.

He raised himself from the bed, shivering, and gathered the water and antidote while ignoring the pounding in his head. He inspected the tiny vial of shimmering pink liquid and turned it over in his hands several times, looking for any flaw in its making. Having made poisons and antidotes as part of his magical studies he was confident when he decided that the antidote was an antidote and nothing more. He downed it in a single gulp and sat back down on his bed, begging whatever powers that be to take pity on him and make the potion work quickly.

The antidote worked even more quickly than one he had ever made, and within minutes he could feel his body temperature reach equilibrium and he shuddered a sigh of relief. Although he had lived for many, many centuries, he felt as though the time he had spent with the poison refusing to work itself out of his system was practically an eternity.

Loki stood from the bed once more and stretched, reveling in the feeling that he did not need to immediately sit back down from a dizzy head. He listened for sounds in the room since he could not see everything around the corner of the cell next to him and, confident that he was the only person in the room, strode straight over to the corner of the room where the glasses of water always appeared and inspected the sliver of light that came through the edge of the cell more thoroughly. He traced his finger along the edge and gave it a gentle push outward, but the opening did not budge. There was no handle on the inside, of course, and it appeared that the doorway would only open inward, towards him. He used his fingernail to try to gain purchase on the door in that tiny sliver of light, but to no avail.

He heard the faintest sound of noises directly below him and he deftly sat back on the bed, upright and waiting for his captor. There was the sound of the trapdoor opening on the other side of the cell and he heard the unmistakable sound of Amora's high-heeled boot steps on the cold stone floor.

"Ah, you've awakened. You took the antidote, I gather?" the blonde Asgardian asked, her eyes sweeping over him for signs of something, but signs of what Loki did not know.

"Perceptive as ever, I see," Loki cut back.

"Indeed," she answered, not acknowledging his snide remark, "Are you ready to assist me?"

Loki regarded the Enchantress for a moment. "You are truly unbelievable."

The sly smile Amora always wore faded for only a moment but quickly brightened again. "Oh? And how is that?"

"Do you know that you could have just asked? That all you had to do was  _ask_  me and I would have aided you in your quest to bring your sister back?" Loki asked, "It was an accident, Amora, and we all liked Lorelei. Even I liked her."

Amora crossed her arms over her chest. "Since when does Silver Tongue do favors for anyone? Since when have you ever done anything for anyone besides yourself unless, in doing so, it would be your gain in some way?"

"Since-" he started, and a thousand thoughts ran through his head at once. Since he had met Darcy. Since he had first felt that twinge of remorse for his heinous actions against Midgard. Since he forgave Thor. Since he had someone in his life who loved him over everyone else. Since Darcy. Since Darcy. Since Darcy.

"Since?" Amora asked.

"Since I've changed," Loki said suddenly, and the words fell on his own ears like a revelation as he realized that they were true.

"You've changed," Amora shot back disbelievingly.

"What can I say, Amora? I am a new man," he said with a grin that was somewhere between genuine and mocking, "Regardless, I needn't explain myself to you. You could have asked, and now that you have dragged me here against my will and held me captive you've all but guaranteed that I will never aid you."

"A new man? You will be back to your old ways, trickster," she told him rolling her eyes and uncrossing her arms, "And you  _will_  help me. You may not think so now, but you will change your mind. That bargaining chip you said I don't have? Yes, well, there is more than one way to make you do what I wish."

"Oh? Who will you pretend to have this time? My mother?  _Thor?_  I don't care," Loki lied, "You do not have Darcy, and she is all who matters. But of course you already knew that."

"We'll see, Loki."

With that Amora left the cell and Loki was left with his thoughts.

x

X

x

They reached the valley at the bottom when the sun reached the midpoint between midday and dusk, and the horses were glad for some time to rest. They stopped to have lunch in a beautiful meadow full of blue-green grass that was next to a field of lavender flowers that smelled like one of Darcy's cherished childhood memories. They ate a light lunch of some of the cheese they had packed back in Asgard and fruit that Volstagg and Hogun had gathered, washing it down with a swig of sweet honey mead before continuing on.

The lights of the homes had begun to flick on one by one by the time the party arrived and Darcy was thankful to learn that they would be staying at a small inn for the night.

"Not that I'm bummed to hear that we won't be chillin' in a weird invisible castle all night, but why aren't we just knocking on Karnilla's door now?" Darcy asked after she hopped off of her horse at the front of the inn.

"Because-" answered Sif quietly as she jumped down from her own horse, "Karnilla is a morning person. We want to catch her in her best mood."

They all went inside and Thor gave some gold coins to the scruffy looking innkeeper for their rooms plus shelter and food for the horses. Darcy glanced around while they waited for the man to finish the transaction- there was rich, dark wood from top to bottom with heavy tables and chairs in the tavern area of the inn and a bar off to one corner. There were a few old, worn couches that surrounded a stone fireplace and the smell of the earthy wood and countless years of fires and delicious meals mixed together to form a symphony of scents.

When Thor was finished they all headed up to their rooms, parting ways to freshen up before dinner, but only moments after they had all closed their heavy wooden doors they heard a shriek that came from Darcy's room. Thor, Sif, and the warriors-three were all there in moments with their weapons drawn. Volstagg reached her door first and burst inside.

"Lady Darcy! Are you all right?" Volstagg asked.

"A bathtub!" Darcy squealed and gestured with both hands at the wooden wash tub in a corner of her room.

They all stared at her for a moment as if trying to solve a puzzle, but each Asgardian was relieved that the cause for alarm was nothing more than a bathtub. They left Darcy to her glee settled in their respective rooms until dinner.

Darcy took her time washing her hair cleaning herself. The inn provided wash cloths and soaps and Darcy was happy to try each and every one. When she was finished bathing and drying, she dug around in her bag for something to wear that was relatively clean for dinner and settled on a simple, plain sleeveless cotton tunic and some clean stretchy brown riding pants. She took a last look in the mirror and, satisfied with her reflection, she headed down to the tavern inside the inn.

The sun had set completely behind the dusty glass windows and the fireplace threw varying levels of glow throughout the inn and tavern. Her party was already seated at a table and they greeted her as she arrived, their joviality at being able to bathe and dress properly was practically palpable.

A young man arrived at their table shortly after Darcy was seated and brought the friends the drinks they had ordered. The waiter set an oddly-shaped glass in front of Fandral that looked to Darcy like something Rainbow Brite would have ordered.

"No  _way_ , this place has fancy drinks? It's not just ale and beer and mead?" asked Darcy and Fandral pushed his glass towards her.

"You are correct, Lady Darcy. Would you like to try a taste?" Fandral asked.

She raised the glass to her lips and tasted a flurry of flavors she had never tried before. The only thing she could pick out was something something akin to strawberry, but more like strawberry's weird, delicious cousin.

"Oh my god," she said.

"Isn't it something to behold?"

"Oh my god," she repeated and stared at it in wonder for a moment. She pushed the glass back to him. "Is there like a secret menu or something? Am I supposed to just know what they have here?"

Sif slid a menu to her from across the dark wooden table.

"You're a lifesaver," Darcy said and gave Sif a smile. She opened the heavy cardboard menu, her fingers leaving prints in the thin film of dust that had accumulated over the years.

"Drinks, drinks, drinks..." Darcy murmured as she searched over the menu, "Ah, drinks."

As she was reading over the menu one of the pages unfolded downwards toward her lap, showing the extended list of what the tavern had to offer.

"Asgardian Aletini and- ooh, a Vampire's Kiss," she read aloud, "Served only after sundown. Black Vanaheim Rum with a silverberry twist."

"I wouldn't drink that one were I you Lady Darcy," Thor commented, "The silverberries in it tend to make one more attractive to the wrong sort."

"Okay. Hey, this one sounds neat – A Lady's Temper. Ruby rum served in a golden sugar-rimmed glass." Darcy read.

"It will make you prone to violent outbursts," said Sif, "Trust me on that one."

Darcy grinned and kept going, "A Demon's Deathbed," she said aloud, "Geez, these all sound like gnarly drinks. Pale, frothy ale served in an special black glass. Only available on nights when Kirdnemhs is tending bar. Kirdnemhs?" Darcy asked.

"He is a magician here at the inn," said Fandral, "Best enchanted drinks you're ever had."

"Oh my god, I know what I'm getting," said Darcy, "A Puffberry Bloom." She grinned at the waiter as he approached their table and he looked at her expectantly. Darcy placed her order with an amused giggle and settled back in her chair. Volstagg and Hogun were discussing a future event coming up at the palace back home when they were done with their mission; Thor and Fandral laughed heartily while Fandral not-so-casually checked out some women at the bar. The tavern had become full of song and drink and conversation, and Darcy was so distracted that she almost did not notice that Sif had been very quiet sipping on a tankard of ale. Darcy followed Sif's gaze and saw her staring at their waiter.

"Everything okay?" Darcy asked. Sif looked up from her drink and smiled.

"It is nothing, Darcy, and here is your drink," she answered and nodded behind Darcy. Darcy turned in her seat and saw their waiter approaching their table with a frosted glass. The aquamarine-colored liquid inside contained black swirls and black sugar on the rim of the glass. It smelled like green apples and tasted even better- it was like liquid sex put on a hat of perfectly ripe fruit and danced a merry jig on her tongue. Within a few sips Darcy was feeling warm, tingly, and a little louder than normal. She was not sure how much time had actually passed; she had begun to measure the moments in sips of the drink she was cradling.

"You know I wasn't sure about Loki when I first met him," she started. She had an arm slung over Thor's neck and he was grinning at her in her drunken state, "I mean yeah, he was fine, but he was  _evil_ , you know? Like Doc Oc evil. Like kind of evil but sorta like,  _not_ , in a way? Yeah, anyway, I brought him a coffee one day because he stopped being such a douchey asshat and it just kinda went from there. You know I didn't know that he was such a good wizard guy, you know? Like I had heard that he was a sorcerer and blah blah blah but like he didn't wingardium leviosa anything after her got his magic wizardry stuff back when that necklace broke. I mean except for the times when he made himself into two Lokis I just didn't see this great and powerful holy-crap Loki monster man everyone talked about," she rambled, lolling her head onto Thor's shoulder. "And  _another_  thing-"

"Well it's time to get Darcy to bed," said Thor with a brotherly smile.

"How many did she have?" asked Volstagg.

"I think it was just the one," Thor answered.

"And I made it  _count!_ " said Darcy.

Thor stood and dragged Darcy with him, carrying her up the stairs when she stumbled over her own feet for a second time. The waiter glanced up a the pair and carried on with his work.

Thor made sure she got into bed without incident and placed a glass of water on her bedside table. She was already snoring when he locked her door before closing it behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have been sooooo patient, so here is a second chapter for your troubles :)
> 
> Un-beta'd.

Darcy awoke the next morning to a pounding at her door and an even worse pounding in her head. She drank a few timid mouthfuls of the delicious water that was sitting on her bedside table, relishing the feeling of it on her parched tongue and throat before rolling out of bed and stumbling to the door. She blinked, bleary-eyed, at the knob, willing it to open, before figuring out that she had to unlock it before it would turn.

"Hogun," Darcy murmured when she opened the door, "Hey."

"Lady Darcy. I have come to bring you a gift," he said and handed her a hot drink. "It will make you feel better."

"Thanks Hogun, that is so sw-"

Darcy stopped when she saw the door to Sif's room creak open and the young waiter from last night crept out, shirtless, closing the door behind him. She and Hogun watched as the waiter squeezed behind Hogun in the hallway, giving them both a wolf's grin before heading down the stairs with his shirt and belt in hand.

"Right," said Darcy, taking the drink from Hogun, "Like I was saying. Thanks."

"We will leave soon," was all the warrior said before leaving and heading back to his own room.

Darcy shut her door and looked down at the drink in her hands. It looked all right but smelled disgusting, and finally Darcy built up enough courage to pinch her nose and down it in one gulp. The motion made her head spin and she laid down while she waited for the liquid to work its magic.

Darcy awoke for a second time to a pounding at her door but this time there was no accompanying throbbing in her head. Thor was at the door and their party was ready to go, so Darcy changed and gathered her things in a panic, rushing out the door, down the stairs, and out the front of the Inn where a bathed, fed, and rested Domino awaited her.

The friends made their way in silence to the lake at the edge of the tiny town, and just as it had done yesterday, the water on the lake was still despite the breeze that was blowing through the brightly-colored valley.

They left their horses to graze in a nearby meadow and Darcy followed the Asgardians to the edge of the lake. She watched as all of them approached the water's edge and stepped onto the lake, on top of the surface of the water, and began to cross it. Darcy reached the water's edge and gave it a timid nudge with her foot, which revealed that the clear surface was indeed solid. And although the surface held her weight without issue, Darcy found that looking down made her feel queasy – the water was solid; not ice, but decidedly still liquid, and the movement of marine life beneath the surface made her feel nauseous. Instead she stared straight ahead, not down at her feet, as she crossed the water and caught up with Thor.

Thor, Sif, and the warriors-three stopped abruptly. Darcy followed suit and took the small window of opportunity to take in their surroundings- they were in the very center of the lake and its depths appeared to be unfathomable.

"I request audience with Karnilla, Queen of Nornheim. I am Thor, God of Thunder and King of Asgard," Thor bellowed up at the sky. All was still for a moment but in the blink of an eye an enormous castle revealed itself to all of them. They appeared to be standing at its front door, which was a massive wood piece that was suspended by ropes in front of the entryway to the castle.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, Darcy," Thor said quickly, "While we are here, pretend that you are engaged to me."

"What?!" she asked, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the front door lifting upon on its own, allowing them all entrance inside of the palace.

The palace had high ceilings but somehow simultaneously appeared to be cave-like. It had stone walls and the light, musty smell of mildew emanated from them. There were furs, fires, and statues, which made a harsh contrast from the bright, languid valley that lay outside of the palace walls. Darcy's eyes began to adjust to the dimness when a young man Darcy recognized entered the parlor. Darcy was surprised to see the waiter from the evening before greeting them with a sly half-smile.

"I am Kirdnemhs," the young man said, "My mistress Karnilla welcomes you to her home. We have been expecting you. Lady Sif," he nodded toward the Asgardian warrior at the end of his greeting. She nodded back once.

"We thank the Queen of Nornheim for holding audience with us," said Thor.

"She is a very busy woman, King of Asgard, but my mistress is always glad to have your company," Kirdnemhs said. He turned and left the room without another word and the friends were left standing in the parlor. They waited in an almost awkward silence, standing in the entrance of the palace, shifting from foot to foot and not knowing if they should speak quietly amongst themselves or not. They decided not.

Kirdnemhs materialized next to Thor instantly and announced that the queen was ready to see them. He led them all through the castle and into the massive throne room. At the end of the room was one lone throne with a back that was so high that it reached the ceiling. Upon the throne sat a beautiful, fierce-looking woman. Her voluminous black hair hung to her waist in thick locks. She was clothed in purple and black with pouches and baubles that hung from her waist, including a couple of small skulls. She held in her hand a simple wooden scepter with a lone red jewel at the tip.

"Thor," said Karnilla, "It has been too long."

"Indeed, Karnilla. How fare you?"

She regarded him for a silent moment. "You mean how fare I today? How fare I since your brother destroyed my home like a child throwing a tantrum? Or how fare I in general?" the queen asked. Her tone indicated a loaded question and Thor's answer would not change the outcome of her reaction.

"Any of the above, Queen Karnilla," said Thor, never losing his smile or faltering in his charisma for a second. He would not be intimidated.

Karnilla regarded him with appraising eyes and finally smiled. "You called my bluff, Odinson. I like that. What brings you all this way to my little corner of Asgard?"

"I will not attempt to deceive you, Karnilla. I am here to find my brother, Loki," he said, and her expression turned icy, "Amora has kidnapped him."

"I always thought she favored you, Thor," she said, and Thor reddened. "Now what use would The Enchantress have for Loki, I wonder," said Karnilla.

"We are not certain of that ourselves. We journey to find her and bring her to justice, to answer for her crimes against Asgard. We have brought a gift for the Queen of Nornheim for any assistance she may be able to provide," said Thor, and from a pouch on his waist he produced the Atall Laufsblad. The little flower cast a soft glow about Thor's hands as he held it out towards Karnilla. She raised an eyebrow and rose from her throne, crossing the room in powerful strides and stopping in front of Thor to inspect the gift. After a quick moment she nodded once, seemingly pleased with the offering, and snapped once in a quick flick of her fingers. Kirdnemhs was there in an instant, popping next to Karnilla from thin air. He took the gift from Thor and disappeared with it.

Karnilla looked as though she was about to speak to Thor when she caught sight of Darcy, who had been standing behind him.

"Thor Odinson, where are your manners? Will you introduce me to your companion?" Karnilla said and stepped past him and get a better look at Darcy. Darcy stood a little taller and met Karnilla's appraising eye.

"Karnilla, Queen of Nornheim and keeper of the Chest of Solidarity, please meet Darcy Lewis of Midgard," Thor said, his eyes darting from Karnilla to Darcy. Sif subtly changed her changed her stance, shifting from one foot to the other.

"It is a pleasure, Darcy Lewis of Midgard," said Karnilla. Darcy tried frantically to remember everything that Frigga had taught her about greeting royalty.

"It is an honor to meet the Queen of Nornheim," said Darcy, "Thank you for allowing us an audience."

"And how long have you been sharing the snake's bed, Darcy Lewis of Midgard?" asked Karnilla, her smile completely vanishing. Darcy blinked and opened her mouth once, closing it again.

"She is my betrothed," Thor blurted out. Karnilla took a single step toward him and her face was an inch away from his chest as she looked up at him.

"Is that so? Because I heard that it was  _Loki_  who became engaged recently and that this human was raving about him last night while drunk in my tavern," said Karnilla. Her tone made it seem like almost a challenge.

"My bride-to-be has not yet become used to the astounding concoctions that Kirdnemhs came come up with," Thor laughed, "I'm certain that if you ask him, your apprentice can confirm that Lady Darcy and I ended the night together when I carried her off to our bed."

"Kirdnemhs!" Karnilla called out and he appeared next to her.

"Yes my queen?"

"Did Thor and this Darcy end the night together? You failed to mention that little piece of information."

Kirdnemhs looked at Sif and blushed. "Well he carried her off to bed, so es, I suppose they ended up together. I don't really..." he trailed off, glancing at Sif again.

"Please excuse us," Karnilla hissed. She grabbed Kirdnemhs's arm and they disappeared momentarily. Karnilla came back, alone, only seconds later.

"Thor and Darcy Lewis, I must apologize. A queen is only as good as the information she receives and clearly what I received was based on the false assumptions of an idiot," she said, taking a breath and pinching the bridge of her nose. "As for what you came here for- I can tell you that Amora is not here. I banished her."

"To where was she banished?" Thor asked.

"To Niflheim," Karnilla answered nonchalantly, "I'm surprised she was able to leave her realm at all, actually, I would think that most of her time and energy would be spent attempting to keep warm. That girl must have honed her powers on her own; she always was crafty."

"To where in Niflheim was she banished?" he asked.

"Wherever she wanted to go. As long as her and her lack of discipline and respect stay far away from Nornheim. It's entirely possible that she is no longer there, though. The banishment spell I used wore off ages ago."

"So she could be anywhere," Thor said aloud.

"Indeed, but if she set up a base or home of some kind it would be in her nature to simply remain exactly where she is already comfortable. I don't think you'll have too much trouble finding her. You know better than anyone how much she likes to be seen, how much attention she craves," Karnilla said, almost teasing him from the sound of it.

Thor's mouth set in a grim line. "I thank you for your time and your hospitality, Karnilla. Nornheim flourishes because of your presence. May your reign last your lifetime."

"And yours as well, King Thor," Karnilla nodded. Her eyes met with each member of the party and strayed an extra on Darcy's before she disappeared as quickly at Kirdnemhs had.

With that the friends left the palace, walking back across the stills waters of the lake and returning to their horses.

"So... how to we get to Niflheim from here? Is there a portal to it here in Nornheim? Like how we got to Alfheim?" Darcy asked. The Asgardians exchanged nervous glances and Thor met Darcy's gaze.

"I'm afraid there's only one way to Niflheim in all of Asgard without the aid of the Bifrost- the Sea of Nornheim."

x

X

x

The Avengers and other visiting Midgardians feasted and mingled with the Asgardians over the following week. Tony couldn't keep his fingers out of anything, Bruce and Jane maintained a steady fascination with Asgardian technology, especially with respect to medicine, and Steve found that it was difficult to find a moment alone. Asgardian women continued to find themselves in his presence and, being the humble man he was, Steve found that he was almost embarrassed at the attention.

"He's exactly their type," Clint said to Phil, both of whom were watching Steve try to dodge a group of women who all seemed determined to grab his attention. "Blonde, tall, big as a freakin' Mack truck..." Steve was scratching the back of his head and blushing as he spoke to the women who hung on his every word with a giggle here and there.

Natasha was wearing Asgardian fashion as though she had practice with it all of her life. She had no problems moving around and was still able to keep her gun on an easily-reachable holster on her thigh. Her eyes continued to dart about, watching the area and keeping a lookout for possible threats.

Old habits die hard.

Nick Fury was the exact opposite of Natasha in the sense of comfort – the long robes he wore swooshed around his feet and he found himself looking down at the ground, making sure he was not going to trip on anything. He continuously tried to get Frigga to discuss a possible alliance with Midgard, but Frigga wanted to wait until Thor was back.

"Do not be offended – it is not as though I cannot negotiate with you; however, the promise of a possible alliance was made by Thor, not me. We can all discuss it at length when he is back in the castle," Frigga explained. Fury took it as her final word and did not bring it up again.

The portal to Asgard remained open without any interruption. Heimdall did not mind; Asgard's own Bifrost was almost completely repaired anyway, which would render the constant connection between Midgard and Asgard useless. The Midgardians found themselves liking the fact that it was there- just in case.

On the morning of their seventh day in Asgard, Jane and the other Midgardians came out into the dining hall for breakfast to find, to their great surprise, Odin and Frigga enjoying their meal together.

"And here they are now," Frigga said to Odin, and everyone stopped in their tracks: some stopped for impending introductions while others stopped purely in awe.

"Please, please, sit. Frigga has told me much about you all," Odin said, barely looking up from his plate and waved lazily to the empty chairs at the long table.

"You must forgive the manner in which Odin consumes his meal – whenever he awakens from the Odinsleep he finds that he has a vigorous appetite to appease," Frigga explained. No one said anything and simply served themselves their breakfast. The silence stretched on and on until it became almost awkward to speak.

Nick broke the silence with the easy grace of a seasoned leader and caught Odin's attention immediately. He introduced everyone in the group, and Odin's eye stayed a fraction of a second longer on Jane than anyone else. Odin appraised Fury and found that he rather liked this Midgardian, even though humans had not done much to impress him in the last several centuries. Maybe it was the eye patch.

It was probably the eye patch.

Frigga and Odin parted from the Midgardians directly after breakfast – they had a lot to catch up on. Odin listened in staunch silence as Frigga went over everything that had happened since Odin had fallen into this relatively short Odinsleep that was caused by Odin sending Thor back to Midgard without the aid of a Bifrost. She told him about the punishment for Loki devised by the queen herself and described the silver chain she made to keep Loki from his powers. Odin gave her an approving nod for her cunning. Frigga described how Loki had fallen in love with the mortal Darcy Lewis from Midgard and how he was now engaged to her, which drew a raised eyebrow from the king. She described how Thanos had gathered five of the Infinity Gems and had lain siege to the castle, and it was only through Darcy's selfless use of the Time Gem that they were all saved.

"I thought I gave you that gem to hide," Odin remarked, "Quite some time ago."

"And I did. I hid it in an hourglass. Loki found it after several centuries of the gem taking up residence on Midgard – it called to him. He was sensitive to its magical emission," Frigga explained.

Finally she came to reason why Thor, Loki, Darcy, Sif, and the warriors-three were not in the castle. Odin's face became grim when she told him that it was Amora that had kidnapped Loki.

"That girl..." Odin said.

Frigga held Odin's hand as they sat in silence.

"This... Jane," Odin started.

"Yes?"

"What think you of her?"

"She is incredibly intelligent. Resourceful. Sure of herself."

"I see."

After having been together for eons they knew the nuances of one another's mannerisms and both knew that the discussion needed to go no further.

x

X

x

Loki lay in his bed, tossing a cup up into the air over and over again to pass the time. He had all the patience in the world.

Amora did not.

She stormed into the tower with Skurge hot on her heels. She stopped in front of Loki's cell and glared at him, crossing her arms. He smirked at her, continuing to toss the cup into the air and catch it.

Amora tossed a wordless look at Skurge who lumbered into Loki's cell. Loki sat up in an instant, crouching and at the ready. The huge man lunged at Loki and Loki dodged him gracefully; where Skurge was brawny and brute strength from head to toe, Loki with lithe and catlike and, while Loki was without his powers, he made up for it in speed. When Skurge was recovering from an attempt to attack, the prince of mischief was making his way to the door in the corner of the cell to make his escape. Amora met him there.

"Come on out, Odinson," she beckoned, "Come out here and play with me."

Loki gave a cautionary glance about the room and exited his cell, feeling his magic thrum back into his veins. It was like regaining a limb that he had not known he had been missing.

Before he could get a single spell out Amora was already attacking him, hitting him with far more powerful magic than he had thought she could even possess. The force of it knocked him off of his feet and he landed with a sickening smack against the cold stone wall and he felt the air leave his lungs. He struggled to regain his breath and was able to throw out a few doubles of himself, but was shocked to discover that Amora saw right through them and was able to pick out the real Loki with ease.

"I want to make this perfectly clear, you viper," the Enchantress said, taking slow steps toward Loki. He was backed up against the wall and was preparing a defensive spell when Amora waived her hand, freezing him in place, "I am more powerful than you. While you were resting on your laurels as The Best Sorcerer Ever I was studying, practicing, honing my skills. You spent your time chasing after Thor and your precious mortal and I was  _here_  by myself,  _working_. Do not think for a single moment that you can take me on, Loki. You do not stand a chance.  _I_  dispatched of Thanos, Loki.  _Me_. Annoying little tag-along Amora. You would do well to reconsider your stance on assisting me. Now Skurge," she said, turning to her lackey, "Help our guest back into his room."

Skurge grinned and picked up the still-frozen Loki. Amora removed her spell from Loki just before Skurge threw him unceremoniously back into his cell while Amora turned on her heel and left without another word. Loki quickly got to his feet and, seething, watched as Skurge shut the door at the corner of his cell. For a little extra flair Skurge knocked over the table at one end of the room, sending the books on it flying before storming out of the room.

Loki was enraged. She  _was_ more powerful than he, he realized, and he would have to rethink his entire strategy because of it. He looked about the wrecked room and his gaze fell to the books that had been scattered haphazardly.

And there, laying wide open next to his cell, was the book that Amora had claimed would assist her in bringing her sister back from the land of the dead. As Loki read over the open page, he realized just how deeply her lies ran.

He also knew exactly what he was going to do.

x

X

x

The next morning Skurge approached the Enchantress, who was sitting at a vanity and working her locks into an intricate hairstyle.

"Mistress Amora, may I beg a word?" he asked.

"Hmmm?" she replied, not taking her eyes from her own reflection in the mirror.

"The Mad Titan mentioned, before you dispatched of him, that to open the rift would be madness. That to take in that kind of power would be a fool's errand and would drive the keeper of such power to insanity, and this is why he refused to assist my lady. Would it not be wise to heed his words?"

Amora stopped primping. "Since when do you listen to the ravings of a crazy man?"

"My lady, I would just hate to see you-"

"See me what? Rise to power? Take what is  _mine?_  What I am  _due?_  Is that it?" she asked, turning to face him.

Skurge was silent for a moment while he assessed the best way to diffuse the situation. "No, my lady. That is not what I meant at all. I would hate to see you hurt."

Amora forced her face to soften. "I see. Well don't you worry, Skurge. You handle my light work and I will do the thinking for the both of us. How fares the prisoner?"

"I have restored the holding room, my mistress, but I am not certain that the prisoner has yet been broken," he told her.

"Oh, he is far from broken. And even if he does agree to help me I will never be convinced that he won't at least  _attempt_  to double-cross me," she said, turning to him. She looked up at him through long lashes and, as she expected, he practically melted at the sight of her, "But I have a plan, and if you're willing to assist me then I know that we'll both get what we want."

"Anything," Skurge answered.

Amora grinned, "You know I have informants across the realms, as well as ways of peering into the lives of those who would do us harm," she started, and the bulky man hung onto her every word as though it were a Sunday sermon and all he wanted was to be saved, "I know that our prisoner's so-called friends are on their way to rescue their poor lost little prince. It is clear to me now that he will not do as I wish until he can see that the life of his mortal hangs in the balance unless he assists me, which is where you come in, darling," she crooned and stood, her full height coming only up to his chest. Amora looked up at him with wide eyes and she ran her hands down his arms. She made sure to toss her golden hair over one shoulder and flutter her eyes for more effect.

"What can I do? Ask and it shall be yours," Skurge answered, gulping.

"They will be here, in Niflheim, very soon my love. They mean to destroy us. They are keeping us  _apart_ , Skurge darling, and until I have opened the rift and taken its power for myself, I will not be strong enough to take us both away from this awful place," she told him.

Skurge stood steadfast and embraced her, "My love, I would do anything for you. I have left my home, my land, my titles, all for you, and I would do it all again. Anything, anything Amora, tell me anything you want and I shall make that happen for you."

"I need his ladylove to be here to get him to obey me and assist me," Amora told him, "He needs to see her in pain. I have eyes and ears all over this realm. When they reach Niflheim, you must take her and bring her to me."

Skurge nodded once. He leaned down for a kiss and Amora snaked away from him, leaving him wanting. She always left him wanting. She played it off like nothing, though.

"Soon, my love. Soon we can be together. It's what we've always wanted," she lied, letting his eyes rove over every curve of her body. She did not mind it; in fact, she counted on it to keep him doing favors for her. She needed him.

"I will await your order, Enchantress. I will do as you wish," Skurge said, and with that Amora gave him a seductive smile and sashayed from the room. He watched her every step as she left him.

x

X

x

"The Sea of Nornheim is not far from here. Hardly a day's ride, but we will need to stop for the night anyway. Let us replenish our provisions here in Nornheim and have our midday meal while we ride – we will need to set out early in the morning," Thor said. Sif and the warriors-three agreed and they made their way back to the tiny town in Nornheim. They refilled their stock of cheeses, dried meats and fruit, and nuts for the long ride and also purchased some fresh fruit and prepared grains from a small food stall for their lunch that day.

"I almost forgot," said Thor as they were packing all of the provisions in their saddlebags, "Darcy. You will need some new clothes for our new destination."

"Oh yeah, I remember reading about Niflheim – isn't pretty cold?" Darcy asked as she tied the saddlebag hanging off of Domino closed.

"You could say that," replied Thor and Fandral let a smile touch his eyes.

Volstagg explained. "Niflheim is responsible for Midgard's winters. Niflheim is naught but ice and cold and snow, with nine frozen rivers that snake across its face," said Volstagg.

"Awesome," said Darcy, "That's just awesome."

"It indeed can evoke awe in one who has never laid eyes on its harsh tundras," replied Volstagg. Darcy grinned at Volstagg and turned to Thor, following him to a small shop nearby and emerging about twenty minutes later with clothing covered in fur.

"You know you can make this stuff without killing animals," Darcy said as she packed the new clothing into Domino's back.

"It doesn't kill the creature. The starbers shed their fur every spring and those furs are gathered by tailors to make cold weather clothing," said Thor.

"Oh," said Darcy. "That's neat."

The friends loaded up the last of their supplies and headed out on the road again. The newfound knowledge that The Enchantress was indeed in Niflheim refreshed the friends' vigor for their journey and, having rested at an inn in a proper bed the night before, all were in high spirits. They headed west, towards the setting sun, and made camp for the night at the outskirts of Nornheim. Volstagg and Hogun gathered some gourds and vegetables nearby while Sif caught some fish from a stream with her bare hands for the night's meal. Thor showed Darcy how to properly start and tend a fire by herself and she was a quick learner- soon the kindling caught flame and Darcy found some stones to surround the bright tendrils of fire. That night they all rested well, letting the gentle sound of Nornheim's breezes lull them to sleep.

The following morning the party arose and got to their ride early upon Thor's insistence. Darcy and Sif even skipped their morning sparring practice and they all had their breakfast on the go whole they rode. After a few hours the bright greens and blues of Nornheim's valleys became the bright greens and blues of Nornheim's sea- they crested a gentle rolling hill and instantly they could all see the Sea of Nornheim spanning the horizon. The teal jewel color of the water looked rough even from the distance. A lone lighthouse could be seen standing like a guardian in the sands of the beach, the powerful beam from its light could be seen even in the light of day and shone over the sea and faded off over its waters. The skies themselves grew gradually less clear as the friends journeyed toward the watery horizon and by the time they hit the bright white sands of the Sea of Nornheim it was completely overcast, the sun only an outline in the sky.

The band road toward the lighthouse and Thor knocked on its door; it opened moments later. A tall, sinewy young man appeared and spoke so quietly with Thor that the rest of the party could not hear them. He shook his shaggy blonde hair out of his haunted green eyes and nodded at Thor once, closing the door. Thor walked back to the party.

"The boatman will take us," Thor said.

"Don't pay him 'til we get there," joked Darcy. The Asgardians' heads all turned to her in unison.

"Have you met him before?" asked Thor. Darcy looked at their surprised faces.

"Guys, It's a song. And a legend, actually. You know, 'don't pay the ferryman 'til you get to the other side'?" Darcy said. The Asgardians exchanged looks with one another.

"It's not surprising that he has been to your realm, Darcy, but this ferryman of whom you speak is very real. Very cunning. And you are right- you would do well not to pay him until your journey is complete," Thor told her.

"This place just gets weirder and weirder," said Darcy.

They all heard a noise from the lighthouse and turned around. The boatman emerged from the front door and beckoned them inside; Darcy followed the warriors into the lighthouse and closed the door behind them. They were in a cramped room, squished all together, and a single spiraled staircase led all the way to the top of the lighthouse. The staircase also continued on down into lower floors, beneath the one they were standing in, below sea level.

Darcy saw the boatman point a tanned hand down the spiraled stairs in the room and Thor led the way with Darcy at the end; the boatman followed her down the stairs, staying just far enough away to be creepy. The stairs seemed to wind down, down, down forever, the rickety steps growing narrower until finally a door could be seen at the bottom of the staircase. Thor almost could not fit through the opening, but after stooping and turning sideways he was able to pass through.

The room below the lighthouse was massive and encased in thick glass, allowing the occupants to get a firsthand look at the sea life contained in the waters near the beach. Floating in the green waters were beautiful, brightly-colored fish and cute little squid-like creatures but with more legs. The brilliant purple seaweed swayed in the Sea of Nornheim's calm waters, not unlike the grasses in Nornheim's valleys.

The boatman closed the small door behind them and Darcy jumped at the sound and close proximity of the man. The man looked past the friends at a boat contained in the middle of a room. It looked like an overgrown rowboat with no place for the oars but ample enclosed space beneath the surface of the seating area for storage. The thing looked like a small ark, really. Darcy followed the Asgardians who all seemed to know what to do- they went straight for the craft and climbed aboard, each taking a seat toward the center. Volstagg helped Darcy into the boat, taking her hand and waiting until she was seated before finding a seat himself. The boatman climbed aboard a took a place at its helm, looking ahead at the glass hatch doors in front of him.

"Guys, what about the horses? And all of our stuff?" Darcy whispered.

"Do not worry about them, Darcy. The boatman has already seen to it," Thor answered. Darcy realized that they had not tied their horses to anything outside of the lighthouse and, now that she was recalling it, she also realized that she did not remember seeing them at all when the boatman beckoned them to come inside of his home. Goosebumps erupted along Darcy's arms as she watched the tall man.

The boatman simply stood at the helm while the Asgardians and Darcy watched him, his back turned to them. Suddenly and without warning a loud sound ripped through the silence of the eerily calm room and Darcy's eyes grew wide, her heart racing. Sif, who looked as calm as can be, took Darcy's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze. They began to sink into the floor and the walls of the boat shifted, moving upwards, until the entire craft was enclosed. The utter darkness of the heavy craft was all-encompassing and reminded Darcy vaguely of Space Mountain at Disneyland when one was headed up that first peak, anticipation and blackness while the thrill of not knowing what was to come shot through you.

Instantly they lurched forward- into what, Darcy did not know, but almost immediately the ride became smooth and the movement of the craft told the occupants that they were now in the water.

"This thing is a submarine?" Darcy whispered to Sif.

"Amongst other things," Sif's voice answered from the pitch blackness.

The time spent in utter darkness was short-lived the walls of the submarine-ark began to come down, revealing the overcast sky of Nornheim again. They floated on the surface of the water and Darcy watched as the boat shifted and changed before her very eyes – what was once a small ark-turned-submarine-pod was now a small galley, with three masts and ropes and supplies that seemed to appear from absolutely nowhere. Even her seat had shifted into a bench more fitting to the vessel. All the while the boatman remained at the helm, looking out upon the water toward a destination that only he knew. He seemed to steer and control the ship by sheer force of will.

The friends got up from their seats and dispersed about the ship. Thor leaned on the railing of one side and watched the green water lap gently against the side of the ship.

"We are fortunate to have reached the Sea of Nornheim on a day such as this. The sea can be unforgiving in the autumn when the west wind blows in," Thor commented. Darcy nodded. She watched the waters herself, catching glimpses here and there of a shape in the waves.

"What is that?" Darcy asked, pointing to the shifting figure. Thor gasped in surprise and grabbed her hand, yanking it back into the boat. Just when Darcy's hand was back inside a slimy tentacle arose from the water and slapped at the air where her hand had been.

"That," said Thor, breathing out, "was an adult squadlamime. They're very smart, very playful, and very much do not understand that land creatures cannot breathe underwater. They are known to pull men in the water and not release them until they become bored, which is of course after the person stops moving."

"Oh wow," Darcy said, her eyes growing wide, "Any other crazy crap I should watch out for while we're out here in the middle of the sea?"

"Just sirens, but that's more when we cross over into Niflheim."

"Gotcha."

As they got further out to sea the skies became clear, and they sailed for hours before the sun began to set. If the sunsets in Nornheim's valleys and mountains had been spectacular, they did not hold a candle to what an ocean sunset held. Thin, wispy clouds caught the color of the light and particles of sea spray in the air, and the mixture of the two produced a dark teal color that looked almost as if were painted by a brush in the hand of some unseen god. They sailed toward the horizon ceaselessly, steadily-

-until suddenly, instantly, it was night. And  _cold_. The cool breeze turned to a harsh, biting chill and their breath hung thickly in the air.

"Jesus god," said Darcy as she sucked in a surprised breath of icy air.

"I thought we had more time before we jumped realms," said Thor. He walked to the middle of the ship, the his body heat rolling off of him in thin misty wisps and disappearing into the night air. He crouched down to the floor and opened a hatch that was practically camouflaged. "Go down into the warmth."

Darcy, Sif, and the warriors-three followed him and stepped down into the lower level of the ship. The boatman remained steadfast at the helm, unmoving, his breaths leaving no trace in the night air. There was an instantaneous difference between the cold night air above and the warm, thick heat below in the cabin. The horses were held in stables at the end of the cabin and their belongings were piled in a neat corner on one side of the room. A glass cylinder sat in the center of the large, open cabin and glowed with red-orange magma.

"Is that thing powering the ship?" asked Darcy. She sat on the floor next to it, cross-legged, and put her hands near it to warm them. The minute that they spent in the cold air of the Sea of Niflheim had chilled her to her core and she did what she could to remedy that.

"It is," answered Sif. "The boatman controls it, so it can speed up slow down by the power of his very thoughts. He holds control over the heart of the vessel."

"Gotcha. So... Niflheim. You guys weren't kidding when you said it was cold, which reminds me- Volstagg, you said that Niflheim controls Earth's winters? How?" she asked.

Volstagg was leaning against a wooden beam in the middle of the cabin. "Niflheim and Muspelheim both orbit Midgard. Niflheim, when it gets close enough, causes the chill and snow and ice of your winters to present themselves. The same goes for Muspelheim – it is the realm of primordial fire, and when it gets close enough to Midgard it is responsible for your summers. It melts and ice and heats the seas."

"So why can't we see Niflheim and Muspelheim on Midg- I mean, on Earth?" she asked.

Volstagg thought for a moment, searching for the words that would explain his meaning the most clearly. "I believe you would call them differing planes of existence. Much like an individual word on the page of a book does not know that there are more words on the other side of the same page, continuing the same story, Midgard is unable to see Niflheim but can always feel its effects. The same goes for Niflheim, though. You cannot see Midgard from Niflheim without Sight like Heimdall's."

The friends talked and swapped stories until they all felt as though it was time for rest. The gentle rocking of the ship lulled them into sleep.

Darcy awoke naturally. Her mouth and throat were dry from sleeping in the hot room next to the ship's source of power all night and she swallowed a couple of times. Her eyes were still closed as she stretched and she froze when her hand hit someone's shoe.

"Sorry," she mumbled, cracking open an eye to see who she had hit. She gave an involuntary yelp when she saw that the boatman was standing in the middle of their sleeping bodies, staring, unblinkingly, down at Thor. He did not acknowledge that Darcy had hit him or give any sort of indication that he had felt it at all.

All of the Asgardians had awakened at the sound of Darcy's yelp and they kept very still, all eyes on the boatman. Thor arose slowly. The boatman beckoned for Thor to follow him up through the hatch to the cold morning air and Sif, the warriors-three, and Darcy followed as well. Darcy was almost on the surface of the ship when she felt the blast of cold morning air coming down at her, so she grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around herself, before she followed them all up to the top the ship, emerging into the chilly morning. They were still sailing but coming up on a snowy shore.

Thor followed the boatman to the helm of the ship while the others watched. The boatman gestured toward the shore and held out his hand to Thor.

"I will pay you for your services once our feet are on land and our horses and belongings are returned to us unharmed," Thor told him and the boatman only looked blankly at him momentarily before looking once more back to the shore as it grew nearer and nearer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined.
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-beta'd.

Amora walked into the holding room with a tray of food and water and approached Loki's cell. Loki sat on his bed, his back ramrod straight, his hands on his knees. He looked straight ahead and did not acknowledge her presence.

 

“Remain where you are, Odinson. Be a good boy and you will be fed,” she warned, and Loki did not move. Amora opened the door at the edge of the cell and placed the tray on the ground inside, closing the door once more.

 

“Have you thought about your answer anymore?” was all she asked.

 

Loki made no move toward the food, but noticed in half a second that, for the first time, Amora had provided him with utensils. He turned to look at her.

 

“I will help you.”

 

A slow grin crept across Amora's face, but she remained suspicious.

 

“And why the sudden change of heart? Surely I did not scare you that badly,” Amora said. She paced in front of the glass of his cell slowly, her high-heeled boots clicking with each step.

 

“I wish to leave this place,” said Loki, and he rose from the bed, meeting her eye, “And you are the better sorcerer of us two, I will admit that. I can see now that I will get nowhere by denying you, and what you ask is not a bad thing. And I can admit that I wish to see Lorelei's smiling face once more. So yes, Amora the Enchantress, I will aide you.”

 

Amora studied him, unsure whether Loki was being genuine or not and deciding that he must be. He could see the power that she held.

 

She realized that he must fear her.

 

“When and where are all I need; other than that I shall await your command,” said Loki.

 

“Soon,” she said, and she eyed him suspiciously, considering his request and finding no fault in telling him, “And I don't suppose there is any harm in telling you where we are, it's not like you can do anything about it anyway. We are inside of Falcor Peak on Niflheim. We shall open the rift where the three frozen rivers meet. The veil between this realm and Hel's in thin there.”

 

Loki nodded and gave absolutely no indication that their location meant anything significant to him. With that Amora left him and his gaze turned toward the plate of food and water.

 

He knew that Amora and her hulking manservant would not be back any time soon, and Loki took advantage of it. He took the knife and fork and started working on the door's edge, attempting to pry it open. While there was magic guarding the cell, there was nothing special about the door that held the door closed. Once opened he would be able to use his powers again.

 

But he would wait for that. He had not lied when he admitted that Amora was more powerful than he, but she was not significantly more powerful. If Loki had the right advantage he would be able to defeat Amora and would not risk breaking out of this prison in a frozen mountain just to succumb to the freezing cold of Niflheim. He did not have the proper supplies to weather the stinging blizzards of the world of primordial ice.

Instead, he would spend his precious time arming himself with knowledge.

 

Loki was finally able to pry the door open and he exited the cell immediately, striding directly toward the book that Amora had dangled in front of him before. He could only read the two open pages when Skurge had destroyed the room, but they were enough to show him that there was no way that Amora was opening a portal to Hel.

 

She was opening a rift into another dimension.

 

Loki pored over the book for hours and, having committed the words to memory, placed the tome back exactly as he had found it and returned to his cell, closing the door behind him. He ignored the plate of food and the glass of water but put the fork and knife back to avoid arousing any suspicion and he thought on what he had just read.

 

It was even bigger than just opening a doorway to another dimension – Amora was going to use him to open a rift to a dimension made up of  _ pure energy _ . She was going to try to take the energy into herself, rendering herself more powerful than possibly himself, Odin, and Karnilla combined.

 

Loki couldn't have that.

 

He stared at the stone wall outside of his glass cell for hours, thinking his strategy over long into the night. Oh yes, she needed him, all right.

 

But he would need her as well.

 

x

X

x

 

The friends returned to the cabin on the ferryman's ship and gathered their belongings, dressing behind partitions and making use of the one small bathroom the ship had to offer. They all made sure to put on their winter clothes and Darcy found that the new fur clothing she got in Nornheim was dreadfully warm in the heat of the cabin. After they were dressed they made their way back up to the top level and watched as the boatman maneuvered the ship up to the side of a rickety snow-covered dock. A wooden ramp appeared at the side of the ship which allowed the friends to disembark.

 

Thor was the last one off of the ship and when his feet were on the dock he reached into his pouch and pulled out two odd, triangle-shaped silver coins and almost handed them to the boatman but he looked over to the shore first.

 

“ _ And _ the horses, too,” Thor reminded him. All of the horses appeared, unharmed, on the shore and Thor handed the boatman the coins. “Thank you for your services, boatman.”

 

The boatman said nothing and once again took the helm of the ship, turning it around and disappearing into the fog of the cold morning.

 

“That was one of the  _ creepiest _ dudes I've ever seen,” said Darcy and the entire party let out a laugh that they had not realized that they had been holding in. 

 

“I feel like I can breathe again,” said Fandral. “Riding with the boatman is always like that.”

 

“And does he always try to jack your stuff? He almost let us leave without our horses!” said Darcy.

 

“He is a slippery one,” agreed Thor, “Which is why one must keep their wits about them when dealing with him. But if you know what you're doing and what to look out for his services can be very useful.”

 

“I wish Loki-” Darcy blurted out before she had realized, but stopped herself mid-sentence. Her friends all gave her looks of sympathy and Darcy took in a deep breath, fighting back tears at the memory of why they had to start the journey to begin with. She blew out a long breath and, when she knew finally that she was not going to be falling apart into a messy puddle, she nodded.

 

“Let's get moving,” she said.

 

The party looked through their things and made sure all of their belongings were accounted for, which they were. There were no fruits or vegetables around to forage so the friends ate a small breakfast from their current supplies with the sound of the gentlest of waves lapping at the snowy shore in the background. With the exception of the quiet waves, there were no other noises to be heard. No animals, no wind – Darcy found the wind thing in particular to be odd, since there were waves, but it wasn't the first time she had seen weird things in these new realms and Darcy was certain it wouldn't be the last.

 

They mounted their horses and were off. Thor conferred with Sif and the warriors-three on the best way to get to a nearby clan they knew of – some of the natives of Niflheim were friendly with Asgard and they were certain that they could stop and ask the locals questions without any conflict. The Asgardians had been there only twice before and they all came to an agreement that the safest way to get to the clan they sought was through a nearby forest.

 

Darcy followed in silence, taking in the scenery of the fourth realm she had ever been to. It was not currently snowing and the fog of the morning seemed confined to the seashore, and the farther away from the shore they got the clearer the sky became. The snow was untouched and thin, papery white trees dotted the scenery. Their limbs were bare and spiky, daring any creature to touch them.

 

Darcy tried to think on anything but what could be happening to Loki. She had not had any dreams featuring him for several nights and she grew nervous at what that could mean. She did her best to calm down, telling herself that they didn't have to dream together  _ every _ night and it didn't necessarily mean anything bad had happened to Loki, but she could not help that her mind had drifted in that direction. She fiddled with the ring on her left finger. She followed the others in silence and allowed Domino to pace herself without any guidance from Darcy. As long as they stayed with her friends she just didn't care.

 

Hogun seemed to pick up on Darcy's withdrawn state and slowed his steed. Domino pulled up alongside him and he looked over at Darcy, his face unreadable. She did not seem to realize that he was even there.

 

“Lady Darcy,” he said quietly, but it sounded loud in the deathly stillness of the frozen meadow.

 

“Oh,” she said with a start, “Hey Hogun.”

 

“You miss Loki,” he said. It was not a question.

 

She smiled and looked down, blinking a few times. “I do. A lot, actually. I try to grin and bear it but I can't help but think about what might be happening to him right now. I haven't shared a dream with him in a while and it scares me to think about why.”

 

“He is a great sorcerer, Lady Darcy. You must not think like that. We are nearly to him and you will see one another, alive and well, once more,” he told her.

 

“Thanks Hogun,” was all she could say. But while his words were kind, they were only words.

 

The friends traversed through the harsh wilderness of Niflheim. While the clothes they wore kept them very comfortable all along their bodies, the breeze cause by the forward movement of their horses stung their noses and froze the small tears in the corners of their eyes. There seemed to be no actual pathways anywhere in the tundra in which they rode, but the horses were able to find their way and keep up a good pace throughout the day.

  
Darcy remained silent throughout the ride, wracked with worry, and her friends knew it. There was nothing that they could say that would make her feel any better, so they themselves also stayed quiet. Only the sound of the horses trudging through the snow and the stinging wind in their ears could be heard.  
After a light lunch on the road, once again from only their provisions since no fruits or animals could be found, they continued their ride. The scenery gradually began to turn from soft snow to hard-packed ice, and the horses were having trouble keeping their footing. There was a small mountain in the distance and Thor told the group that they needed to make their way to it so that they could find shelter for the horses.

 

They got to the mountain by nightfall, just as the bright lights of aurora began to trace wavy blue-green streaks through the sky, and were able to find a small cave in the icy mountainside that was free of any predators. They set up their campfire and brought the horses inside, brushing the snow off of their legs and feeding them some extra to accommodate the extra exertion they had put forth for the day's ride. They decided to make their own camp in the little cave that night, but the howling wind continued to awaken them and when they finally arose in the morning they found that their muscles were stiff with the cold and lack of sleep.

  
They secured their horses and continued their journey on foot. Darcy and Sif forewent their morning training session simply because they could not spare the energy it would take and they ate their breakfast on the road. Volstagg kept a keen eye out for any fruits, vegetables, or nuts that they could forage to supplement their own rations, but to no avail. There was nothing.

 

  
Nothing.

  
"I don't remember it being quite this bad," said Thor. Ice and snow had gathered on his beard and eyebrows.

  
"Yes, well, if you recall the last time your parents were with us, and they knew what to expect. Plus we got to travel by Bifrost with a host of servants and guards," said Sif and she shifted her fur around her shoulders.

 

“That clan is nearby,” said Fandral, “I remember that it was a little over a day's ride to get to them and we've already ridden for a solid day. It won't be long.”

 

Darcy still remained quiet, focusing less on her worry for Loki and more on putting one foot in front of the other without slipping or stumbling. Every inch of travel felt like a fight with her tired body and some parts of her warm clothing was beginning to feel cold due to some of the snow that had melted from her body heat. The bottoms of her feet stung with cold so badly that she wished they would finally go numb. She looked around at her friends and noticed that they did not seem to feel the cold as harshly as she did, or if they did they certainly did not show it. She wanted something to take her mind off of the seemingly unending journey that hung above her head like an ax waiting to fall.

 

“Thor,” she said suddenly.

 

He stopped and turned, a panicked look on his face. The other Asgardians stopped as well and waited for her to catch up to them so that they would not have to shout.

 

“I'm okay,” she said, and relief immediately replaced the panic. She continued to trudge through the snow and in a few strides she caught up with them and they walked together. “I've got to get my mind off of all of this. Do you have anymore stories?”

 

Thor thought for a moment. “I have a story that may interest you, actually,” he breathed and shook the snow from his beard. “You know that Lady Sif's status as a warrior in Asgard is quite remarkable, do you not?”

 

“Yeah,” answered Darcy.

 

“I am going to tell you how that came to be, if Lady Sif doesn't mind, of course.”

  
“Of course you can tell her,” answered Sif from Thor's other side.

 

“Lady Sif, the warriors-three, Loki and I all grew up together. And where myself and the warriors-three would sword fight and practice battle tactics in Idun's orchards, Loki and Lady Sif practiced their magic-”

 

“Which Lady Sif was dreadful at, by the way,” said Fandral. Sif grinned and crouched low, lobbing a snowball at his head.

 

Thor grinned and continued. “Sif's magic had some very... interesting results. One day she approached me and asked me to teach her what I was learning about fighting and blocking and so on. At first I didn't believe that she was serious-”

  
“You made fun of me!  _ Mercilessly! _ ” said Sif with a light laugh.

 

“Did not,” he said back at her, “Anyway, we began to practice in secret. Every single day. And of course being missing for hours at a time every single day led to a lot of whispers around the castle, but neither of us cared. Sif got better and better, and she had a keen mind for battle- often times she would pick up things naturally that others had to be taught the hard way. She began to get very good, and she began to shirk her magic practice and started spending more time with the warriors-three and me instead.”

 

Eventually we revealed to the warriors-three what we had spent our time doing and they received the news quite well. Each one of them wanted to take on Sif, to see if she was really as good as I said. We were all well-matched and began sparring with one another in secret. Soon we all practiced together, sometimes for days at a time, in secret. Sometimes we would head to Vanaheim, sometimes Heimdall would allow us to go to Midgard because as we all know there is no keeping secrets from him- and I think he knew of Sif's affinity for battle before even she did.”

 

“The rumors!” said Volstagg, “The citizens of Asgard had a great time speculating about where we all went off to together every day.”

 

“Right?” answered Sif, “I think my favorite was that Fandral and Thor were sharing me. People's made up assumptions reveal a lot about their own selves, really.”

 

“And she never once let us,” said Fandral.

 

“Gross!” Darcy said and she looked around Thor and Sif to give Fandral a dirty look. All he had gave her was a grin. Sif punched him in the arm in a manner that was supposed to be lightly, but they all knew that that would definitely bruise. Fandral's smile never ceased, but rubbed his arm and kept moving forward.

 

“So Sif, the warriors-three, and I were walking around the barracks one day perhaps a year after we started her training. And keep in mind that this woman right here had been a novice the year prior,” Thor said, pointing ahead to Sif, “and we observed that one young warrior in particular was winning all of his sparring matches against every opponent. And was he  _ arrogant _ about it, too. Absolutely convinced of his own infallible power and skill in the art of war. And then he cat-called Sif.”

 

“Ouch,” said Darcy. She rubbed her hands together for warmth and Thor and Sif exchanged worried looks that Darcy did not catch.

 

“He was such a pervert,” said Sif, “And he didn't seem to care that the prince was standing right next to me. It isn't like our friendship was a secret; you could have had him discharged for that,” she said to Thor.

“I could have,” he agreed.

 

“So what happened?” asked Darcy.

 

“Sif challenged the man. Loudly, I might add,” said Thor.

 

“That was a good day,” said Fandral with a wistful smile.

 

“Ooh,” said Darcy. Her breath hung in the air in a little puff of condensation.

 

“She did. Here was this girl, like any other girl from the looks of it, all dressed in airy chiffon that hung from her sleeves all the way down to the ground. The look on the man's face when she challenged him was perfect- would that a painter had seen it to capture its essence, it was that amazing. And the man, in all of his arrogance, accepted her challenge. 'I've never backed down from a challenge from a man, why should I back down from you?' he said to her. Myself and the warriors-three managed to keep stony faces and simply watched in silence as she, very gingerly, hopped over the gate. It was very ladylike. The man laughed and laughed; he laughed so much he almost couldn't keep his sword up when he saw her do that. And she just stood there in the dirt ring with him, her dress brushing up against the dust with her hands folded in front of her while she just watched him, waiting for him to regain his composure,” Thor explained.

 

“His arrogance was his undoing,” said Hogun, “He assumed that she would be an easy victory; little did he know that simply by standing there and looking helpless she was disarming his most dangerous weapon.”

“His mind,” said Darcy, and Hogun nodded.

 

“Indeed,” said Thor. “I tossed her a broadsword which was almost as big as she was, and when she held it up to him with precision the smile left the man's face. By all accounts a girl her size should not have been able to wield it, yet here she was, a noble lady of the court holding the blade of her sword right at his face.”

 

“That was about the time he stopped laughing,” said Sif.

 

“Aye. Now keep in mind that he was a fine warrior himself, and when she held that blade there was practice in her stance – he could tell she knew what she was doing. He began to take her challenge seriously, although there was confusion in his eyes. A small crowd had gathered by then and everyone watched while the two danced around one another. The man struck first and Sif almost tripped on her long day dress trying to block him, which made him laugh. While he was distracted Sif took her own sword and cut a long line down the middle of her dress from the waist all the way through the bottom, and the opening allowed her much more freedom of movement. I think the part that most shocked her opponent was that she was wearing the proper outfit for sparring underneath her dress,” said Thor.

 

“And then chaos erupted after that,” said Volstagg.

 

“Of course it did. I had given my big secret away; I had to dispatch of him immediately or he would gain the upper hand,” said Sif.

 

“She struck at him quickly, knocking his sword out of his hand, but he still had his shield. They went back and forth for a time, but where he had the advantage of size and strength, she had the advantage of nimbleness and cunning. She separated him from his shield and even knocked him to the ground, placing a foot on his chest and pointing her sword down at his face. 'Do you yield?' she asked, and he was silent. In fact, the whole crowd was silent. 'DO YOU YIELD?' she shouted, and he put his hands up. 'I yield! I yield!' he said, and there was naught but laughter in the crowd. I don't think Sif even noticed that a crowd had gathered-”

  
“I hadn't noticed them until they started cheering for me,” Sif said.

 

“But you could tell that the people loved her, accepted her, for exactly who she was. The crowd was full of warriors and bakers, seamstresses and farmers, and all of them cheered for her. She was magnificent. She thrust the blade of her sword into the ground, ripped her ruined dress off, and revealed her pants and boots, tunic and armor beneath. She lifted her sword to the air and they cheered again, calling her name. She never had to hide after that day,” said Thor.

 

“Wow,” breathed Darcy.

 

“That was a very good day,” agreed Sif.

 

“And after that day she trained with all of us out in the open. Every warrior knew her name and they respected her, treating her no differently than any other member of Asgard's forces,” Thor said.

 

“And that's all I ever really wanted,” said Sif, “Just the chance to do what I was born to do without ridicule or retribution. They took it a lot better than I anticipated. I mean, there were your hold-outs, your ignorant 'man's men' that didn't want to believe that a female could possibly hold their own in battle, but for the most part the people were quite accepting. And I'm happy to say that there are a few young girls that have asked me about the life I live, curious to know if it's something that they could do or would even  _ want _ to do. They now know that they have options. And I always tell them that they can be whatever they want to be as long as they have the conviction to follow through.”

 

“That's awesome, Sif,” said Darcy.

 

The friends found that their spirits had lifted somewhat and they talked and laughed for another few miles, taking in the scenery and ignoring their screaming limbs. Their surroundings had changed and they came upon a forest of trees so thick that there were patches of frozen, bare, black earth beneath some of their numerous branches. The branches, however, were heavy with snow and ice, and patches of light shone between the limbs in rays.

 

“We're close,” Thor said to Darcy.

 

“Those are some of the best words I've ever heard,” said Darcy, “Definitely in the top ten.”

 

Their steps came more easily in the forest. Although they were dodging trees left and right, there were no bushes or underbrush and the areas that were free of snow allowed them to move through the forest much more quickly than they had been used to in that realm. After an hour of travel through the forest the light from a fire could be seen up ahead.

 

“A sight for sore eyes, indeed,” said Volstagg.

 

“At last,” said Thor.

 

Thor led the group as they made their way to the firelight. The sound of their approach in the otherwise silent forest alerted the realm's natives to the Asgardians' presence and a few large men emerged from the woods up ahead to investigate the source of the alien noises. When they saw the friends all but one raised their bows at them, pointing their arrows directly at Thor.

 

“Identify yourselves,” said the closest. His had long white hair that hung to his waist and his pale blue hands held the bow with deadly accuracy.

 

“I am Thor, King of Asgard. These are my friends. We mean you no harm. We wish to speak with your leader, Faolan,” said Thor. He put his hands up to show that he wielded no weapon. The man who did not hold a weapon stepped forward and approached Thor.

 

“You have grown, King of Asgard. The last time we met you were but a prince,” he said. Recognition dawned in Thor's eyes.

 

“Faolan!” he said, and the two embraced one another, “It has been far too long! I hardly recognized you without a gaggle of children at your feet.”

 

“And I hardly recognized you without you clinging to your mother's skirts, but here we are,” said Faolan with a grin and they separated. Faolan's men all lowered their bows. “Please come inside. I know how you Asgardians cannot stand the cold, too used to your long summers I imagine.”

 

“It's not we Asgardians I'm worried about, Faolan, our bodies are made of sterner stuff. But we have a Midgardian with us and she needs warmth soon,” said Thor. Faolan glanced back at Darcy, her lips had begun to turn a pale shade of blue-white and she nodded once at him.

 

“Follow me,” Faolan said and they did. They made their way ahead to the campsite and there was nothing there to indicate that any life was there other than the fire – no blankets, seats, cooking supplies, nothing. To Darcy's dismay they walked right past the blissful fire and into more woods. All she wanted to do was run back and hold her numb feet near the flames.

 

It was not long before they came upon a ring of trees with an almost-clearing in the middle – save for a single, largish tree in its center, there was nothing around its base for twenty feet. Faolan approached the tree and ran a finger along one of the ridges in its white bark, and there appeared in its trunk a door large enough to fit even Thor, although only one Thor would be able to fit inside of the trunk at a time. Darcy raised an eyebrow but asked no questions, assuming that the answer would present itself. Faolan held the door open and gestured at the others to head inside. Two of Faolan's men stepped inside, one after the other, and then both disappeared. Then Thor. Then Sif.

 

It was Darcy's turn to step inside and when she did, she found that it was just the inside of a tree trunk. It was dark and she was not certain of what she was supposed to do, so she stood there and looked out at Faolan and the warriors-three expectantly. Just as she was about to ask what she should do, she felt a hand pull at hers from behind.

 

Darcy turned around and found that it was Sif's hand that had found hers, and that she was no longer on the inside of a tree trunk. They were in a room made exclusively of the dark earth that Darcy had seen above ground- the walls, ceilings, and floors were all the hard-packed black dirt and the ceiling had tree roots poking out of it. The room was lit with lanterns that held no fire, only a beautiful white energy that emitted no heat. Across the small room were several doors, and each had a label in a foreign language that Darcy could not even begin to comprehend. One of the doors was open and Sif led Darcy through it.

 

“Your hands are like ice,” said Sif, and she did not let go of them. Sif's hand felt so warm against hers that it was almost uncomfortably hot. “Why didn't you say anything?”

 

“Because what could you guys have done? I'm not going to be the stupid human that slows you down because she's cold,” said Darcy.

 

Sif's mouth set in a hard line but she said nothing. Darcy's step faltered and Sif flung one of Darcy's arms around her own shoulders, supporting part of her weight. They walked through the winding hallway that was made of the same hard-packed frozen earth. At the end of the long hallway was an opening and Sif and Darcy emerged into a huge common area filled with native people of Niflheim.

 

“What do I call them?” Darcy whispered to Sif, “Niflheimens just doesn't sound right.”

  
“Niflheimites,” answered Sif.

 

“Thank god,” said Darcy, “That would have been embarrassing.”

  
Every face in the room turned toward them. Their white eyes were framed by pale blue faces, faces like Faolan's, and each had bright white hair in an array of lengths and styles. Thor gestured for them to follow him across the room and through another door.

 

The door led to a small bedroom, and off to one side of the bedroom was a bathroom.

 

“Faolan's wife said we could use this room for her,” Thor said to Sif before he left the bedroom, closing the door behind him after he left to go back into the common room.

 

“Are you able to undress?” Sif asked. Darcy brought her numb fingers up to her fur-laced hood and was able to remove it, but when her fingers got to the ties that held the fur clothing snugly to her body they failed her. Sif assisted her and soon Darcy was down to her underwear, her teeth chattering, as Sif helped her to lay down on the bed. Sif pulled off her boots and went into the bathroom, and moments later Darcy could hear the sound of a bath being drawn.

 

Darcy drifted in and out of consciousness, her muscles singing with the relaxation of laying down in a proper bed but at the same time screaming as chills racked her body. She wanted to warm her hands and feet, but whenever they touched anywhere near the warmer parts of her body she jerked away from them. Sif had not been joking when she said they were like ice.

 

Darcy thought she must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing she knew she was being lifted from the bed and carried into the bathroom. Sif helped her lower herself into the steaming bathtub and the stinging heat was painful against her freezing cold skin, but she became used to it after a few minutes. Sif watched her with a wary eye as Darcy's eyes continued to flutter open and shut.

 

“Are you going to make it?” Sif asked, half-jokingly.

 

“Yes,” said Darcy as she gave a small, involuntary smile, “Thank you so much.”

  
“Well I owe you one. I don't think I could have faced Fandral again if  _ he _ had been the one to help me into the hot springs back when I hurt my ankle after dealing with the Jotuntonn,” said Sif and Darcy snorted at the thought. “I am going to be in the bedroom; when you're done bathing and you've warmed up I can help you into bed. Can you move your toes?”

 

Darcy gave them a test wiggle and they all moved perfectly.

 

“Yep,” she told Sif.

 

“Wonderful. Call me if you need anything,” Sif said. With that Sif left the bathroom, closing the door behind her to allow Darcy some privacy. Darcy shimmied out of her wet bra and panties, tossing them into the sink across the room. She spent several minutes simply feeling the hot water warm her to her core, and she washed her hair and body when she felt comfortable moving that much. When she was finished she drained the tub and it took all of her strength to lift herself from it, but she was able to do it and wrapped a towel around her torso before heading heading back into the bedroom. Sif awaited her and had some borrowed clothes laid out for her, blissfully dry as they were. Darcy was able to get into the clothing and the bed on her own and Sif left her to rest. Darcy was asleep within minutes.

 

x

X

x

 

“You called for me, my love?” asked Skurge. He stood in the doorway to Amora's dressing room and tried not to let his eyes wander all over her body since she would be able to see him in her vanity mirror.

 

“My spies have informed me that our guest's friends have made landfall right here in our lovely realm, darling,” she said and did not turn away from her own reflection, “They have sought refuge with Faolan's clan. Loki's mortal is with them.”

 

“Consider it done,” said Skurge, and he turned away.

 

Amora smiled to herself, the only genuine smile that she ever gave to anyone anymore.

 

x

X

x

 

_ When Darcy's eyes opened, she was in Loki's arms. Relief flooded her as she hugged him, awakening him as well. _

 

_“I thought something happened to you,” she said, and although he could not understand the words she spoke, he clearly knew what she was trying to say. He held her close and ran his hand over her shoulder repeatedly in an effort to calm her. He jerked suddenly with a memory, startling Darcy, and he got out of bed quickly._

 

_Loki walked over to the cell of one wall and Darcy propped herself up on her elbows, watching him while he blew icy Jotun breath onto the glass. While the glass was frosted over Loki drew on it with one finger, and with each stroke a shape emerged from the lines. When he was done he looked from Darcy to the drawing, pointing at it and blowing on it a few more times to keep the image clear._

 

_Darcy got out of bed and moved toward it to get a better look. It was a triangle with three lines that formed a large 'Y' underneath it, but it meant nothing to her. Loki saw her confused expression and simply kept pointing at it, urging her to keep looking, to commit it to memory._

 

_Darcy nodded once to indicate that she had it down. They both got back into the bed together they spent the rest of their time silent in one another's arms, reveling in the closeness that had become almost foreign to them._

 

x

X

x

 

When Darcy awoke she felt as though she had slept for days, but since there were no windows in the underground home she had no way to tell what time of the day or night it was. She lay there for a few minutes, allowing herself to awaken fully while she listened to the muffled voices of her friends and the Niflheimites out in the common room. Darcy arose from the bed and stretched, reveling in the feeling of simply being a comfortable temperature. After using the bathroom and fixing her hair Darcy stepped out of the small bedroom and into the large common room. As they had done when Darcy had first walked through the common room, every face turned to the sound of her door creaking open. The Asgardians sat amongst the Niflheimites and smiled at her in welcome.

  
"And here she is now," said Thor. Darcy gave the room a wave and some of them waved back, quickly getting back to their conversations. Darcy took a seat between Thor and Fandral and realized that they were sitting across from Faolan and a woman who must have been his wife.

  
"I cannot recall the last time we entertained a Midgardian," said Faolan's wife, "Welcome to our realm, Darcy Lewis."

  
"Thank you," she answered. "It's very pretty, Mrs....?"

 

“My name is Aisling; Faolan is my husband and this is our family. Some are my children, some are his, and some are ones we picked up along the journey of life,” she said, gesturing to the other Niflheimites in the room. They ranged in size from knee-high to full grown men and women sitting around the room. Some of the resemblances to their mother and father were striking, but other faces were clearly from different families entirely.

 

“Thanks for letting me sleep here,” said Darcy.

 

“It was no trouble at all. We are always happy to host the house of Odin,” said Aisling, “I understand that you and your friends are on a mission to find Loki.”

  
“Loki!” Darcy gasped, suddenly remembering her dream. Thor, Fandral, and Faolan looked at her in surprise and she turned to look up at Thor. “I had a dream. Loki drew me a picture and made a really big deal out of me remembering what he drew. I'm not sure what it is, though.”

  
Faolan spoke. “Take this,” he said, and handed her a thin, sharp stick, “and draw it right here on the floor between all of us.”

  
Darcy took the stick and drew quickly, and soon the floor held the same symbol that Loki had drawn for her – the upright triangle with three lines that formed a large 'Y' beneath it. When Darcy was done she leaned back to let everyone get a good view of the image.

 

Faolan and Aisling gasped.

 

“That's Falcor Peak,” whispered Aisling, and Faolan nodded in agreement. “That's where three of the world's frozen rivers meet at the base of the mountain.”

 

“Are you sure?” asked Thor.

 

“There is no mistaking it,” said Faolan.

 

“Is it far?” asked Darcy. Sif, Hogun, and Volstagg heard the commotion and had gathered around to listen as well.

 

“Not at all. Maybe a half days' ride from here,” said Faolan and Darcy gave a little squeak.

 

“Are you serious?” she asked breathlessly. “Thor, what time is it? How long was I asleep?” she asked frantically.

 

“You were out for about two hours. We still need to rest and eat, Darcy,” said Thor.

 

Darcy could have exploded with frustration. “But we could get to him tonight, we could-”

  
“Darcy,” Thor cut her off, but his voice was not unkind, “We are weary. We must rest and eat, and we cannot possibly traverse the land in the dark and cold. We must wait until morning. Loki will be fine for one more night.”

  
She opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, trying to find the flaw in his logic. She realized that he was right- she did not know the land at all and she would not get far without her Asgardian friends. And she definitely needed more than a two-hour nap to recharge from a day of trudging through knee-high snow and ice.

 

“Okay, but can we get an early start tomorrow?” she asked.

 

“I can wake you all as soon as the sun rises,” offered Faolan.

 

Thor agreed and thanked him. With that the Asgardians dispersed to the rooms that the Niflheimites had prepared for them and Darcy went to her own room, but sleep did not find her easily. Her heart and mind raced with thoughts of what might be- what might she find? Loki had been prisoner for over a month at this point and god knows what his captor had done to him. While he seemed healthy in her dreams, could she count on those images as truth?

 

It was hours before she finally fell asleep, and when she awoke she realized that it was not Faolan who was waking her – it was a stranger, and he had a knife to her throat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank for reading! Please favorite, follow, and review if you are so inclined. 
> 
> I am also on Tumblr and I post updates on all of my fanfiction. My username is JessiokaFroka.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Un-Beta'd.

Darcy and the man shared a stare that seemed to last for hours that, in reality, had lasted a split second. Instinct kicked in and Darcy's hand was up to her throat in a flash, and when she grabbed the knife out of his hand she simultaneously armed herself and disarmed him. She rolled away from him and was on her feet before she even realized what was happening, but the man was fast- he was upon her in moments, and it was only because he was so much taller than her was she able to slip underneath one of his arms and get out of the bedroom. He quickly reached around the door in a last desperate attempt to grab her but only caught a few strands of her hair.

Darcy ran across the common room screaming for her friends at the top of her lungs. Her toe caught the root of a tree sticking up from the floor and she fell forward, hitting the hard-packed earth with her left arm outstretched and she heard it give a sickening crack. Her other hand hit the ground as well and her knife flew from it, clattering against the dirt wall a few feet away. Blinding pain shot up through her shoulder and her vision varied between blackness and stars for a long moment. She immediately rolled over and sat up, attempting to ignore the protest from her left arm while her right hand reached for the knife. That all happened in a matter of seconds.

The man had emerged from the room and was striding towards her with seething fury etched into his face. She got a good look at him in the light and committed his visage to memory – bald, mustachioed, _huge_ – the guy could give Thor a run for his money in the Gigantic and Muscly department. Suddenly her hand wrapped around the hilt of the knife and she lifted it to defend herself as he approached, but she did not need to. Hogun emerged from his room wearing nothing but pajama pants and an I-Mean-Business look on his face, and in his hand he wielded his trusty sword which was outstretched toward the intruder as though it were a comfortable extension of his own arm.

Hogun stepped over Darcy and (thankfully) missed her left arm entirely, swinging his sword at the intruder. Darcy got to her feet behind him and never once dropped her knife, getting herself into a ready stance as best she could with her broken arm. Thor, Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and Faolan emerged from their own rooms moments later, and, upon seeing that he was clearly outnumbered, the stranger disappeared in a literal puff of smoke. The Asgardians looked around at one another, confused, before looking at Darcy who had dropped the knife and began cradling her broken arm.

“What happened, Darcy? Are you all right? Who was that?” asked Thor.

“I have _no_ idea!” said Darcy, “He was being a creeper in my bedroom and had a knife to my throat and I have never ever seen him. He didn't, you know, _do_ anything, but I broke my arm,” she said, nodding toward the arm she was cradling.

“How did you break your arm?” asked Sif.

“I totally did a flying ninja punch at him and damned if it didn't hit him wrong,” said Darcy, and Sif put her hands on her hips. Darcy sighed. “Okay, I tripped. But I _did_ disarm him and get away,” she added with a cheery grin. Thor and Sif both grinned as well, but it was short-lived.

“Whoever it was, they know we are close,” said Volstagg, “I would not put it past The Enchantress to have eyes and ears all over the land surrounding her home.”

Fandral and Hogun nodded. Aisling came into the room with some bandages and ointment having heard that Darcy had broken her arm. She led Darcy to lay on one of the many couches in the room and began to rub the cooling ointment all over her already-swelling arm.

"I don't know much about human anatomy, my dear, but you will need to have a healer look at that when your journey is done. You will have to take it easy for the remainder of your travels," Aisling told her. Thor opened his mouth to say something but Darcy cut him off before he could even start.

  
"Don't even say it, Thor. I am not staying here while you guys go get Loki. I am not going to be left behind when we're so close. I am still coming with you whether I have a broken arm or not."

  
Sif and the Warriors-three all hid their own smiles while they glanced back-and-forth between Thor and Darcy. Thor looked like he was going to say something for only a second and Darcy shot him a don't-you-even look that stopped his words and his throat. He held up his hands and looked down at her sternly.

  
"As long as you know the risk to yourself," Thor said. "But I must say I admire your bravery. You did well, Darcy."

  
"Yes, she did. But we must be vigilant from here on out," Sif said. "They know we are here so we have lost the element of surprise.”

The room was silent as all of the occupants let Sif's words sink in.

“We should not give them any more time to prepare for your arrival,” said Faolan, “And it is nearly sunrise anyway. I shall prepare a quick breakfast for you before you head out. Please make use of our showers and,” he said, turning to Darcy, “be sure to take some of the clothing from that bedroom you are in, something more than just the indoor clothes we've given you. My daughter is about your size and her clothes should fit you well; pick out some good winter clothing before you go.”

“Thank you so much,” Darcy said.

“Your hospitality has been more than we deserve,” Thor told Faolan and Aisling, “Asgard is in your debt. Should you require us you need only call.”

Faolan and Aisling nodded. Faolan left for the kitchen and Aisling continued tending to Darcy's arm, rubbing some more deliciously cool ointment on it before bandaging it up and making her a makeshift sling. When she was done Darcy thanked her profusely and went about preparing for the last Loki-less day of their journey. Excitement bubbled up within her at the thought of being reunited with Loki and even despite her broken arm she was able to get dressed and ready relatively quickly.

When she was done she met everyone out in the common room for breakfast. By that time the entire family had awoken and the house was a noisy, chaotic, perfect symphony of laughter and talk. All of the little children wanted to sit next to Thor and Hogun, laughing while they compared their height to Thor's and their bright white hair to Hogun's raven-black hair. Darcy looked around the room, a hot mug of a rose-colored liquid in her good hand and her other in a sling. She took in the wonderful noise of the big family while at the same time she longed for the quiet peace of solitude.

The Asgardians and Darcy ate their meals quickly, conversing quickly with Faolan, Aisling, and their older children. Soon they were ready to go and the family was sad to see them leave, but bid them good luck in their travels.

Thor had gotten good directions from Faolan and they made their way through the woods, toward the rising sun. After only ten minutes Darcy's muscles were already aching from the walking she had done the day before but she did not let it slow her at all; she focused on walking without moving her broken arm too much.

  
"Darcy, you must slow down," Sif called ahead at her. For the first time on their journey Darcy was ahead of everyone and leading the group.

  
"The faster we get there the faster we can get this over with," Darcy called back to her.

  
"We must conserve our energy. We don't truly know what awaits us there, Lady Darcy," Thor said, and Darcy immediately slowed, allowing her friends to catch up to her.

“You got me there,” she said.

“It warms my heart to see you see you so eager to see my brother once more,” said Thor.

“Yeah, I've kinda of got a thing for him. I was thinking I would just hold onto him for a while,” Darcy winked. She fiddled with the fingers on her good hand but kept moving forward, placing one foot in front of the other in silence.

x

X

x

“My lady, I have failed you,” said Skurge as he hung his head, “I was not able to extract the mortal.”

Amora crossed her arms and looked up at him, ugly disgust etched into her normally elegant features. “And you dare come back to me empty-handed?” she asked rhetorically, but Skurge's face brightened in realization.

“Not empty-handed-”

“Silence!” she shouted. She liked to hear her own rage echo off of the stone walls. Skurge closed his mouth and she eyed him suspiciously for a moment. “What do you mean 'not empty-handed'?”

Skurge held up his hand and Amora had to squint to see what he was trying to show her. There, dangling between the webbing in his fingers, were three strands of long dark hair.

Realization dawned on the Enchantress. “Tell me-”

“That these are hairs from Loki's mortal? They are. I was able to obtain them when she ran from me.”

Amora gingerly pulled the strands from his hands and attempted to cover up her internal giddiness. “Well, it's not the same as the mortal herself, but they will do. Skurge,” she said, and his eyes snapped up to hers with rapt attention, “You will assist me. I shall use the mortal's hair in a spell and you shall take on her likeness. You will then pretend to be Loki's lady love, do you understand?”

“My love, what if I-”

“Screw it up? You won't. You won't be able to speak. All I need for you is to sit there and play the part. You will go get the prisoner ready. Give him the dwarven shackles, that ought to keep him from attempting to escape with his powers intact.” she added and turned from the room. She headed down to the cold depths of her mountain dwelling with the air, slamming the door behind her with a chilling finality.

Loki heard Amora's manservant lumbering up the stairs and did not move or even look up when the oaf came up through the door in the floor.

“It is time, Odinson. These,” Skurge said, holding up heavy clanking iron shackles, “will keep you from using your powers outside of your cell. Amora added a little something- extra- to them. If you attempt to escape from them in any way you will regret it for the remainder of your short days.”

Loki said nothing and Skurge came into his cell, his head brushing the ceiling while he fastened the heavy iron shackles around Loki's wrists in front of him. A thick chain connected his wrists to a shackle around his neck and still another chain led to the shackles that clicked around his feet. Once all of the iron was fastened correctly Skurge closed the door to the cell and left once more.

Loki lay down sideways on his bed, allowing the mattress to hold the weight of his new accessories. His thoughts wandered, as they always did, to Darcy.

He hoped that she would not come for him too soon.

Within an hour Amora arrived at his cell. She took the spell book that she kept in Loki's tower and tucked it under her arm, then she opened the door of his cell. Both said nothing as he exited his tiny glass cage with the sound of clinking metal the only noise that permeated the room.

Amora led Loki by the chain around his neck down the narrow, winding stairways and into the heart of the mountain itself in silence. Amora had truly made the place her home- she had used her considerable powers to brighten up the dreary peak with furs, gilded pieces of art and ornate oddments from her travels. But beyond the shiny gilt and glamor it was naught but the hollow inside of a frozen, harsh mountain.

They reached the bottom of the final set of stairs that Loki could see and stood in a foyer with high ceilings. A chain much like Loki's was fastened to a metal link that was bolted to the floor and the chain itself led off into the shadows. Loki could not see what it held.

“One last thing,” Amora said softly and with a wave of her hand the chain on the floor unfastened from the metal link in the floor. The chain lifted itself into Amora's hand and she jerked it toward herself.

Darcy came stumbling from the shadows and fell to the ground, smacking her chin on the hard stone floor. Her hands, feet, and neck were bound just as Loki's were and she had a harsh gag wrapped tightly around her mouth. She struggled to get to her feet and blood poured down the fresh wound from her jaw that had struck the floor.

Loki's nostrils flared. He suspected that this was some sort of trick but could not take the chance with Darcy's life.

“I knew that there was no way you were truly going to help me willingly, Loki. And now I have leverage,” Amora said.

Loki took a hard look at Amora's face. “Let's get on with it.”

As the trio walked in silence through the camouflaged door of the mountain into the bitter cold outside, Loki watched Darcy. She did not look at him. She would normally look at him. She would normally try to comfort him. She would normally not be so _quiet._

Loki realized immediately that Skurge was nowhere to be seen and Amora's flimsy parlor trick came apart immediately. All the while he said nothing.

Unless-

Unless Darcy had been drugged. Or hit over the head a little too hard. Or... countless many other things could have happened to make Darcy act oddly. And Amora had the power to bend people or her will, with or without the aid of a potion.

The seed of doubt nestled itself within the folds of Loki's mind.

It could be her.

It can't be her.

But it _could_ be.

A slow, crooked nausea settled in the pit of his stomach and he continued to glance at Darcy-who-was-not-Darcy-but-might-be-Darcy. She was walking jerkily over the ice and snow, following the heavy chain around her neck as though her legs were new to her.

Loki followed his own chain held by Amora to where the three frozen rivers met. He thought quickly. Amora would have to remove his chains to ensure that he could assist her in opening the rift and keep it open. It was then that he had to strike, but he could not take the chance that Darcy could be harmed. And he could not allow Amora to hold that kind of power. The two conflicting ideas rattled around in his head and made each step that he took heavy with burden.

As they approached the small lake where the three rivers met Loki made out a large, lumbering figure in the snow. Skurge sat atop a small rock with a good vantage point so that he could watch the show. Loki glanced quickly from the giant of a man back to Darcy and made up his mind. He would attempt to take control of the rift from Amora while simultaneously protecting Darcy.

Amora smiled slyly to herself with her head turned away from Loki. He had not seen her wave her hand to create the illusion of Skurge sitting on the rock to fool him. Good.

Amora came to a stop with her back to the frozen river while she faced her mountainous home. She glanced at Loki and the faux Darcy once before snapping her fingers. The chains fell off of Loki but tightened around the fake Darcy, causing her to scream against her bindings.

Amora did not mind what she was doing to the real Skurge. He deserved it for failing her.

“Fail me, trick me, or otherwise mess this up and she will die immediately, Odinson,” Amora warned. Loki nodded and massaged his wrists, but he did not attempt to do anything. Satisfied, Amora opened her tome and read the words aloud. She had practiced them many times and now, today, they were finally able to realize their true potential.

She paused and nodded once at Loki, who held out his hands toward the empty space between himself and the mountain and concentrated on that area alone. He did not know precisely what would happen, but when the faintest burst of energy presented itself he would be there to catch it.

Amora let the foreign words roll off of her tongue quickly, so eager was she to open the rift. Within minutes she had said the entire summoning spell and the ground began to shake lightly beneath them.

When suddenly appeared before them a sliver in the very fabric of reality itself, a thin vertical slice in space and time.

Amora and Loki concentrated on the rift together and it was becoming more and more difficult to control. Loki kept his eyes on Amora and she was only keeping her eyes on the rift. The ground continued to tremble, increasing in the power of its tremors. Some of the small boulders from the mountain began to tumble down, all of them missing the quartet, when the rift opened wide.

The ground gave a loud rumble and lurched beneath their feet. Loki heard a loud scraping sound but ignored it. Instead Loki turned his hands toward Amora who was caught entirely off-guard and could not raise her own hands from concentrating on the rift to shield herself in time – she took the full force of his blast of energy.

She fell to the ground and Loki looked back to see what the scraping sound had been. As Amora fell her illusion of Skurge sitting near them vanished, but Loki was too distracted by the noise he had heard – he turned around just in time to see a huge boulder that had dislodged itself from the mountain tumble to the ground and strike Darcy.

Time halted for Loki.

Loki rushed to Darcy's side and watched as she took shallow, bloody, shuddering breaths. He untied the gag around her mouth and she tried to speak, but instead she coughed up blood.

He did not have the power to heal such a fatal wound, but it did not mean that he would not try. He laid his hands on her abdomen and between her breasts on her chest, but his spells and words did nothing.

Loki looked to the sky and an animalistic scream erupted from his lungs.

x

X

x

It was not long until a single mountain came into view and the friends walked along one great, frozen river to get to it. No light could be seen anywhere on the peak and by all accounts it seemed to be nothing but an ordinary mountain- aside from the fact that it was exactly what Loki had drawn for her in her dream.

The friends pressed onward.

“With that vantage point she is sure to know that we are coming,” said Sif.

“Aye, it is likely,” agreed Thor.

They were all silent for a moment, when suddenly Darcy spoke up.

“So what happened between you and this Amora lady?” she asked Thor.

He was quiet for a long moment and Darcy noticed that Sif and the warriors-three looked up, down, away, anywhere but her Thor and her.

“Nothing happened between us, actually, “said Thor, “It was her sister Lorelei.”

Darcy remained quiet to allow him time to gather his thoughts and words before he continued.

“Lorelei and Amora were very close- they only had one another I think, and if they had parents no one knew them or had ever seen them. Lorelei was a bit older than her sister. Amora was the human equivalent of about 14 years old and Lorelei was my age, about 19 years old at the time. And, just as she had done when they were children, Amora wanted to be included in everything Lorelei did. They adored one another. But Lorelei had become a full-grown woman and was starting to spend more time amongst some of the young men in the kingdom-”

“One young man in particular,” interrupted Fandral.

“Yes, well, I went through women quickly when I was young; You must understand that I was a different person back then, Darcy,” Thor said.

“We all had our wild days, big guy. Keep going,” she urged him.

“I never thought my wild days would cause any lasting damage, but they did. Amora grew intensely jealous of Lorelei and me. She was jealous that I was taking away her sister and she was jealous that Lorelei was with me. Apparently Amora had a bit of a crush on me at the time-”

“A bit of a crush!” Sif laughed, “She was head-over-heels for you, Thor. The whole damn kingdom knew it.”

The warriors-three nodded in agreement.

“And I saw her as Lorelei's annoying little sister,” said Thor, “So as Lorelei spent more time with me, of course she spent less time with Amora, which caused Amora to grow even more jealous. One day she challenged her sister to a duel over it.”

“A _duel_ ?” asked Darcy, “Are you fucking kidding me? Two sisters got into a fight over you? Don't get me wrong, Thor, you're a nice looking dude and all, but if they were as close as you say they were there must have been something else going on beneath the surface.”

  
“And we suspect that there was as well,” said Thor, “But it is all speculation. Amora was always wild, always explosive, and always wanted to be the center of attention. And Lorelei was, in a way, the opposite. She was calm and centered, and was Amora's rock; she was the only one Amora would ever really listen to. They were close, they didn't seem to have any parents, and they were both naturally skilled in magic which made them competitive with one another but also deepened their bond, their closeness. We think. They weren't very open about how they grew up but when they were together they were best friends. I think that her sister's growing up was the last straw for Amora.”

“So she challenged her one and only sister to a duel over a fling,” said Darcy.

“I tried to make sense of it too, Darcy. But yes, that's what started it,” answered Sif.

“Amora insisted on having the duel in a very public place. She wanted everyone to see it when she finally _won_. At the time I thought the whole situation was hilarious,” said Thor, his lips forming a grim line, “Two pretty sisters fighting over me? And while one was too young for me at the time, she was still beautiful, and it was yet another thing for the mighty Thor to add to his list of things to brag about,” he said, clearly disgusted with his younger self.

Thor continued. “So they decided to meet at the Rainbow Bridge. Little did Amora know that Lorelei was setting her up; Lorelei told me in secret that she agreed to the duel and then would leave Amora waiting on the Rainbow Bridge to embarrass her. All of us went; Loki, Sif, the warriors-three. And of course I went to the Rainbow Bridge to watch the fight between these two sisters over me, knowing that one of them wasn't going to show up, just to see the look on Amora's annoying face. And while we were all waiting, crowded around the the area where the rainbow bridge meets Asgard, someone pointed out a lone figure in the sky over the lake by the castle and all of us noticed it, too, when... it... started to scream and fall out of the sky. We all tried to get to her, but we couldn't in time. Lorelei had concocted a potion that allowed her temporary flight. She wanted to get a good view of Amora's humiliation, but she had made the potion wrong. It stopped working mid-flight, and she did not survive the fall.”

Thor let out a shuddering breath.

“Amora... she was never the same,” Thor said after a long pause, “She became obsessed with her studies of the magical arts. And when she wasn't throwing herself into practicing and working on her craft she was out causing trouble with the men in town for as long as they held her interest. Amora blamed herself for her sister's death and she surrounded herself with as much distraction as she could. She has had to live with Lorelei's death since then- they had been so close, and when Lorelei died they had been in a rare, petty fight over a man that neither of them really even knew. So one night, years later, after Amora had grown into a woman and the sting of the loss of Lorelei had passed, Amora had started to...”

“... throw herself at you?” Sif offered.

“...stalk you?” said Hogun.

“...practically attempt to force you to court her?” Fandral asked.

“All of the above, if I recall,” said Volstagg.

“It _was_ all of the above, but after Lorelei died, every time I saw Amora all I could see was Lorelei's sweet face in hers. And I told her as much, as gently as I could, but she was difficult to shake. She began to show up at palace functions, and I even begged Loki to try to win her away, but he wouldn't even entertain the idea. He said that even he 'wouldn't touch crazy like that,'” said Thor, and Sif and Fandral both sniggered.

“I know she kidnapped my future husband and all, but this is like the saddest thing I've ever heard, you guys. I don't see how you can think this is even a little funny,” said Darcy without a hint of a smile.

“I agree,” said Thor, shooting a stern look at Sif and Fandral. “She had a way about her that just rubbed you the wrong way after a while. She was beautiful and she knew it, and she was confident and angry and just... off. I can't even put my finger on quite what was so different about her, but it wasn't a good different-”  
“It was more like a 'she'll probably knife you in your sleep without warning one day' kind of different,” said Fandral.

Thor thought on those words for a moment and frowned, nodding. “Sort of, yes. Anyway, Amora's hanging around to try to run into me or popping up out of nowhere began to get pretty embarrassing. She was still Lorelei's little sister to me; she knew it, and it enraged her. On the first night of the Festival of Idora of her twentieth year, Loki caught her trying to slip something into my drink, and after that Mother and Father sent her away to apprentice under Karnilla.”

“Oh wow,” Darcy breathed, focusing on not losing her footing over a patch of particularly slippery frozen snow, “Great. Loki's being held by a date rapist.”

“Loki is a better sorcerer than Amora, thankfully,” said Thor, “I have no doubt that he can hold his own.”

“Damn straight,” said Darcy. “Okay, so what's our plan from here?”

“We must find the entrance to the mountain, first. I have no doubt that she has made her home in such a conspicuous place which is why Loki drew it for you,” said Thor.

As they got closer to the mountain, they all picked up their pace, and when they were close enough to start seeing the detail of the mountain and the area where the three rivers met, Darcy noticed three figures in front of the small lake that connected the rivers.

“What the hell?” asked Darcy, but the Asgardians had already seen it as well.

They were too far away to make out in detail, but they friends could tell that one person was slim and blonde, one was tall with black hair, and there was a short brunette with them as well. All of them had their backs turned toward the friends and then suddenly something appeared in front of the three figures – a slice in the very fabric of reality about the height of one man standing atop another's shoulders. It produced an odd mix of colors that Darcy had only seen one other time, in the fire-and-ice lake when she and the Asgardians had been traveling to Nornheim toward the beginning of their journey.

“What was that you said about that pretty lake we saw, Thor? That it was rumored to be the place where Ragnarok begins and ends,” Darcy asked; her voice sounded far away and disbelieving even to her own ears.

“Yes,” said Thor, and the tone of his voice revealed that he caught what she was getting at while he tried to reconcile what he was seeing with what he believed to be actually possible.

Suddenly she ground began to shake. The friends stopped walking forward to try to keep their balance but Darcy's eyes were kept firmly on the dark figure in the middle. The knot in her stomach told her it was probably Loki, but she did not want to hope in case it was wrong. The dark figure and the shorter blonde one next to him had their hands out toward the large rift, clearly concentrating, when heavy boulders from the mountain began to tumble downward toward the trio.

Darcy gasped, watching it happen while being much too far away to do anything to help the figures. One of the largest boulders dislodged from the side of the mountain and two things happened simultaneously: the black-haired figure in the middle turned his hands toward the blonde and the blonde was clearly surprised, and the boulder rolled down toward the trio fast, so fast, and struck the brown-haired figure on the right. The blonde crumpled to the ground and the black-haired figure realized what had happened while its back was turned and it rushed to the brunette, kneeling down over its crushed body. Darcy watched as the black-haired figure turned its pale face to the sky and heard a small sound come from the figure; from the long distance it was a indiscernible scream. The figure then turned back to the opened rift and held his hands up to it again, and Darcy watched as the rift closed, and as it closed the shaking of the ground quieted and finally stopped.

Darcy and the Asgardians began to run toward the figure, and as they hurried as quickly as they could with Darcy's broken arm slowing them down they watched as the black-haired figure collapsed to its knees next to the brunette figure. Its back was still turned to the friends as they got closer.

Soon it was clear that the black-haired figure was indeed Loki, even paler than Darcy had remembered thanks to spending over a month locked in a cell without sunlight. His body was shaking with sobs and they did not slow as he heard the party approach behind him.

“You are too late,” Loki said without turning around, and he clutched the brunette figure to him. “There is no bringing her back from this.”

“Why, did I miss the party?” Darcy asked.

Loki froze and looked down at the figure in his arms, and the imposter Darcy heaved a last, bloody, shuddering breath. As the life drained from him, Skurge returned to his natural form once more and Loki tossed Skurge's body off of himself, standing up and whirling around.

Loki caught sight of her.

They both froze.

No one was sure who moved first, but they were soon in one another's arms, simply embracing, trying to meld into one being.

x

X

x

Loki mended Darcy's broken arm and the Asgardians discussed what should be done with Amora, who had begun to stir. Loki gave her another blow with a wave of his hand and she was out again, much to the chagrin of all who saw it happen- Loki's face held nothing but the deepest contempt for his former captor. Sif fastened the enchanted iron chains around Amora's wrists, feet, and ankles, and they headed toward the entrance to Falcor Peak.

Thor, Sif, the warriors-three, Darcy, and their prisoner waited in the foyer while Loki raced through the cavernous home, filching supplies, his daggers, and magical oddments. Loki had the ability and knowledge to identify magical traps that may be set around the treacherous mountain and did not want to risk anyone coming upon some stupid trap just as they were about to leave this wretched place. He came upon the small vial of poison that Amora had taken from him so many weeks ago and slipped it back into a pocket on the inside of his duster- who knows? He might need it later. Loki made several trips from the foyer to the corners of the home, making sure that they were well-stocked with necessities for their return trip.

They spent the night in the foyer, taking turns watching over Amora and ensuring that she stayed unconscious. Loki and Darcy took their shift together and spent their time talking quietly, mostly about Darcy's journey to save him.

“I could kill Thor for allowing you come,” said Loki, “but I am glad that you are here with me.”

“Like I would miss out on this. Mortal or not, I wasn't about to sit around twiddling my thumbs while god knows what was happening to you,” said Darcy. She entwined her fingers with his and trace circles with her thumb. “Anyway they needed me. They didn't know exactly where you were and I was having those dreams.”

Loki nodded once, slowly. “Either way, I will be much relieved when you finally have an apple,” said Loki.

“Mmm,” she replied.

She drifted off to sleep in his arms and he did not wake her. Instead, he sat with his back against the cold wall of carved mountain, re-cast the warming spell he had placed on the room, and listened to her slow, steady breaths in the darkness.

x

X

x

The first thing Loki did the next morning was take down the magical shield that Amora had placed on her home. Instantly Heimdall was able to see them, as Loki knew he would, and they began their journey back to Asgard while Heimdall informed Odin and Frigga of the success of Thor's rescue mission.

Loki definitely made the journey back easier for all of them- with his powers back to full strength he was able to fashion a sort of grotesque snowmobile-like device out of nearby trees and even large pieces of crystalline ice. It was able to carry all of them, including the bound, unconscious Amora, through the tumbling snow drifts and back to the clan who welcomed them warmly. The children rushed out to see the party as they arrived, and one small child had a white cloth bandage in her hand as she approached Loki. Loki looked down at her curiously while he was waiting for his other party members to depart from the makeshift snowmobile when suddenly the child slapped the white bandage on top of his unhurt hand. “There,” she said, “Now you're all better.” Loki looked down at the bandage with a mixture of confusion and amusement while the child giggled and ran back to the tree trunk that was the entrance to her home. Darcy had seen it all and grinned at him, waiting for his reaction. He kept the unneeded bandage on his hand and commenced with helping Darcy into the tree trunk of the clan's home entrance.

Faolan and Aisling allowed them all to stay the night again and celebrated the success of the mission with a large, warm meal prepared by the heads of the household. Faolan poured drinks for everyone and set to work on a quick first course while Aisling was busy finishing the trimming on the roast of a huge beast that Darcy could not identify. They chatted merrily with the Asgardians and the older children in the household while Darcy and Loki sat on the couch, surrounded by the tiny children.

“Were you hurt?” one asked.

“Of course he was hurt, look at his bandage! _Geez_ , Faola,” another replied.

“It's a good thing Darcy was there to getcha. You woulda froze ta death!” said an even smaller one still.

“Indeed I would have,” Loki said with a smile and his gaze steered toward Darcy. He was proud of her. He had been scared for her the entire time he had been held captive, but he knew (had he known all along?) deep down that she would make it. She was too full of hellfire and spirit to let something like a rescue mission lead her to her end. Darcy gave him a sleepy smile and leaned her head against his shoulder while he fiddled absentmindedly with the ring on her left hand. The children lost interest and left Darcy and Loki alone, two souls resting in front of the fireplace, and all the world could disintegrate around them for all they knew. They did not care. Together they felt at home.

x

X

x

The journey back to Asgard went by in a blur for Darcy. With the exception of Loki keeping a mother hen-ish eye out for Darcy's mortal safety, the journey was pleasant, and even at some points it was downright jovial. All were in a good mood and without the myriad stops that were needed along the way they were able to get back to Asgard in half the time. Plus Loki knew a way back to the realm of Asgard from the shores of Niflheim that did not require them to take another creepy journey with the ferryman, much to everyone's relief.

The only thorn in their side was, naturally, Amora, who had to be hauled and poked and prodded to get her to cooperate. She silently mourned the loss of her makeshift home and all of the relics and treasures she had collected over the years. She did not mourn for Skurge; rather, she missed the convenience of having him at her beck and call. Everyone kept a close eye on her throughout the journey and the lack of privacy was beginning to grate on her; she, who was a very private person to begin with.

On the last morning of their journey, Darcy awoke early, eager to get her day started. She and Sif were keeping up on her fighting practice and Darcy was getting better each and every day. Sif told her as much, and Sif was not one to lie about such an important subject. Defending oneself was a treacherous business indeed, and one had to keep up with their practice to avoid being caught unawares. Darcy had not realized that Loki had been keeping a careful eye on her for the last half hour of this morning's practice. She and Sif called it a day, and when she turned to put her weapons away he was there.

“You're doing quite well for yourself, Miss Lewis,” Loki said, and his deep purring voice sent a thrill through her. It had been a long time indeed and they hadn't had a moment alone together in well over two months, save for the Asamtdraumr they shared occasionally. But that was not enough.

“Well, O Prince of Mischief, a girl has to keep up on her sparring practice for the next time she has to go rescue your silly ass,” she replied. She slipped passed his towering form stealthily, the fruit of her daily practice showing in the flow of her movement, and Loki stayed still to allow her to pass him.

“Darcy,” he started, and closed his mouth again. She could hear from the hitch in his voice that he wanted to say something but wasn't exactly sure of how to come out with it. She placed her sword with her other belongings and began working to get the ties off of her armor.

“Yes?”

He turned around to face her, looking down at her with his hands clasped behind his back.

“I've lost you twice now, depending on how you look at it. Well, it seemed like twice to me,” Loki said, almost to himself. He let that sink in for a moment, but for the benefit of himself or Darcy he did not know, before continuing. “I can't go through that again.”  
“And you won't have to. We're getting married-”

“Today.”

Darcy stopped fiddling with her armor bindings and looked up at him.

“One more time?” she asked. Loki's eyes were serious, very serious, and he knelt down to eye level with her.

“Let us marry today. When we return to the castle,” Loki urged.

“Babe,” she started slowly, blinking for a moment to gather her thoughts, “No.”

“And why not?”

“Because we still have a lot to talk about. Don't get me wrong, I want to marry you, I do. It's just... where are we going to live? Do you want kids? What are your goals in life? What are mine? There are some really huge things we need to talk about and we haven't. At all,” Darcy said, and Loki sat down beside her.

“I am going to say this only once, and I mean every last word: I do not care. We can live wherever you wish – we can go back to Midgard or we can stay in Asgard or we can take up residence in Vanaheim for all I care. We can have one-hundred children or we can have none. And as far as our goals... we can plan them carefully or deal with things as they come. No matter, I know I want you by my side. Darcy Lewis, marry me today. Partake in an apple so I can rest easy at night, because the only thing that will ever separate us is death. And I cannot make it so easy for death to claim either one of us so easily.”

Darcy sat in silence for a long moment and thought.

“One condition,” she said finally.

“Name it.”

“No fucking way are we having a hundred kids.”

Loki stared at her for a brief moment and began to laugh, a deep, rich laughter that set her soul at ease.

“Done.”

Darcy set back to removing her armor, her hair sticky from the sweat that was drying on her scalp. “I'm glad you mentioned that you're up for going back to Earth, because I've been meaning to talk to you about that,” she breathed, untying the final pieces of armor and setting them on the shiny silver pile she had made with the rest of it, “Asgard is nice and everything. But for all my bitching and complaining about my family and my boring job there, I've missed it. More than I though I would, actually. I would like to go back home when we're married and yes, we can get married _today_ if you guys are able to swing it.”

“I have no doubt that Heimdall is informing the guards now, who will inform my mother. There will be a wedding this afternoon whether they're prepared or not,” Loki said, and with that he set about to gathering Darcy's belongings and packing them onto her horse. Loki even made breakfast for everyone who had not yet awakened, including Thor, who took his plate of hot food from his brother with a sleepy, puzzled smile and ate it without question.

When Darcy told Thor and the others of the wedding that was to take place that very afternoon it got everyone going in a hurry. And while Darcy doubted that the wedding would actually happen today- they still had several hours to ride, she needed to take a long, long bath when she got back to castle, not to mention the fact that they had been _gone for two months_ \- she allowed their renewed energy to push down her road weariness and she kept pace with them with no trouble at all.

When the castle came into sight several hours later Thor and the warriors-three cheered in unison. A thrill of excitement and relief went through both Darcy and Loki. They all rode on toward the castle until the sun had passed its highest peak in the sky and Darcy's back, shoulders, and legs were screaming from yet another day of riding. One hour after that and they were much closer to the castle, and the party began to hear cheers from the Asgardian residents who saw them as they passed on their horses. The residents saw Amora as well, bound and riding on her own steed; she looked down at them all with contempt and the residents looked back at her with a look of sheer pity.

Pity was worse than hatred.

For the most part all eyes were on Thor and Loki as they rode through the town surrounding the base of the castle. Fair where his brother was dark, Thor sat atop his horse proudly, smiling and waving at the small children. He kept a vigilant eye on the castle entrance and soon he was rewarded – there, at the top of the shining golden stairs, Jane stood with Odin, Frigga, the Avengers, and a few members of SHIELD. His heart leapt at the sight of Jane.

“Oh wow, is that Odin?” Darcy asked in a hushed whisper. Somehow she thought he might be able to hear her even from that distance.

“It is,” Sif answered, “Who is that tall blonde man?”

Darcy squinted and realized that Sif must be talking about Steve Rogers, who, along with the rest of the Avengers, Phil Coulson, and Nick Fury, stood behind Odin, Frigga, and Jane. “That's Steve,” Darcy answered and cast a sly sideways glance at Sif who was clearly interested to know more about this Steve man.

And for the first time in his life, Loki received just as much attention as Thor. He could feel Odin and Frigga's eyes on him alone as he rode up to the steps of the castle and finally dismounted, assisting Darcy off of her own steed as well, although she didn't need the help. He regally climbed the stairs holding Darcy's hand and reached the people who had raised him, hugging his mother and giving a nod to his father who returned it in kind.

“Odin Allfather, I introduce to you my fiancee, Darcy Lewis of Midgard,” Loki said.

“I have heard great things about you, Darcy Lewis of Midgard,” said Odin, and he grasped her hands gently, “Frigga is quite fond of you. I have found through my many years that my wife is seldom wrong.”

“Thank you,” said Darcy, unsure if it was a compliment or not. She decided it was.

“Mother-” Loki started, but he was interrupted by Thor rushing past him to embrace Jane, who had been very impatiently waiting next to Frigga. The pair kissed and whispered sweet nothings to one another while Loki turned back to Frigga, but she interrupted him.

“Everything is prepared. Let us get you both ready and we will have a wedding today,” Frigga smiled. Loki and Darcy grinned at one another like two idiots in love will and, hand-in-hand, they made their way into the castle.

x

X

x

“You guys certainly know how to throw a quick party,” Darcy said as Inga ran her fingers through Darcy's freshly washed hair.

“Aye, we can. We Asgardians live a long time and this is the first royal wedding we've had in several millenia. The lady queen was planning it the entire time you were gone,” Inga replied. She looked at Darcy in the mirror of the gilded vanity and smiled. “You are different, my lady.”  
“I am?”

“You are. You have the look, my dear. When we send our boys out to their first real fight, they come back with that look. You have experience now; you are no longer a girl in woman's clothing, but a woman. You will make a fine leader,” she said kindly, and Darcy smiled.

“Thanks, Inga.”  
“Are you ready?”

“You know what Inga? I think I am.”

“Well let's get you looking like a princess, then.”  
Inga was done with Darcy's hair and almost done with her makeup when Jane and Frigga came into Darcy's quarters. Jane let out a gasp and Frigga smiled when they saw Darcy- her hair was long and flowing with her natural curls, and nestled within the dark tresses was a shining silver tiara. The tiara's ends dove into Darcy's hair at the top and came out on either side of her face, curling around her ears in the ram's horns that matched her armor.

“Wait 'til you see me with clothes on, it's gonna be awesome,” Darcy joked and glanced down at the towel that still clung to her now-dry body. “How long have you guys been here?” she asked Jane.

“About an Asgardian month at this point. It was quite a bit longer back on Earth,” Jane said, and she fiddled with a ribbon on her sky blue dress that cinched at the waist with long swaths of fabric that stretched all the way to the floor.

“I can't wait to hear all about it,” Darcy said. Inga finished with Darcy's minor amount of makeup and helped Darcy up, leading her into the dressing room where the wedding dress that Darcy had not seen yet was awaiting her. Jane and Frigga listened in silence at the little noises that came from the dressing room. They heard a couple of “Hold still”s followed by a sharp intake of breath that Jane knew instantly as the sound of Darcy's bodice being laced up. A couple of minutes and some clicking from Inga later and Darcy was ready. She stepped out of the dressing room with a grin. She knew she looked good.

For a second time Jane and Frigga gasped and smiled, respectively, at the sight of Darcy. Her wedding dress was befitting of a princess in general and of Darcy specifically. Pastel purple clung to her curves and glimpses of silver could be seen entwined intricately in the bodice. Her shoulders were bare and the bodice showed off enough to be alluring but not distasteful, and the sleeves stopped at the elbow where long swaths of the sheer pastel purple fabric reached the ground.

“You look beautiful, Lady Darcy,” Frigga said, and took Darcy's hands in her own. Darcy smiled back at her, her eyes glittering with happy tears. “You will make a fine daughter.”

“Thank you, Queen Frigga,” Darcy said, and they embraced. Darcy then hugged Jane and then Inga, who with a sturdy, experienced hand wiped a tear from her own eye.

“Shall we?” Darcy asked Jane regally, who linked her hand in Darcy's. Frigga handed her a small bouquet of clustered flowers and as one unit they all made their way to the Hall of Ceremonies as the base of the castle.

Darcy drew in a breath as she heard the low rumble of thousands of hushed voices gathered in the hall. The people of Asgard were all dressed in their finest clothing for the royal wedding and they had gotten ready quickly- the sun was only just now beginning to set, turning the sky into a swear of bright reds and oranges. Golden sunlight filtered in the windows and lay softly on stone floors and-

-there.

Darcy's breath caught in her throat.

Loki.

Darcy caught a glimpse of Loki and Thor, standing at the front of the long aisle lined with Asgard's citizens. Loki was in his full regalia, his golden horns and armor shining brightly in the sunlight. Next to him Thor was also in his winged helmet and ceremonial armor, grinning at Loki. The Avengers, Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, Sif, and the warriors-three all lines either side of the steps next to Loki and Thor. Odin was standing a few feet away from his sons next to a tall dark woman who could have been Heimdall's fraternal twin- her long black hair reached her waist and hear dress seemed to have been dipped in pure, shining gold. In her hands she held a golden box. Darcy tried to gaze upon the box longer, but suddenly music began to play throughout the whole of the castle that seemed to originate from the walls of the Hall of Ceremonies itself. Thor moved to stand with his comrades in arms and they all awaited the bridal procession to begin.

Butterflies hit Darcy for the first time. Butterflies not for her marriage to Loki – she knew that they were bonded forever, marriage or not – but for her impending transformation into immortality. She had known that it was coming, but it had come so soon.

“Chin up, smile, you look beautiful,” Frigga said. Jane and Darcy both did so, and on an unknown cue Jane stepped out onto the long aisle, walking the long path to the end where her own Asgardian awaited her. Frigga then grasped Darcy's elbow lightly, and soon they too stepped onto the aisle, and all of Asgard arose from their seats to catch a glimpse of the new princess.

The look on Loki's face when he first saw Darcy walking toward him down the aisle was almost overwhelming to her. She knew he loved her, of course, but he was usually so private unless he was alone with her. But to see the look of joy on his face in front of all of his friends and family held fathomless meaning for Darcy. She would never forget that look as long as they lived.

Darcy reached her fiance (almost husband, she thought to herself) and took his hand. Together they took the final steps toward Odin, who would conduct the ceremony for the most part. The golden woman stood motionless behind Odin.

Darcy's eyes over Sif and the warriors-three briefly, and they all gave her heartwarming smiles. She glanced briefly at Thor who did the same, and finally she turned her attention to her soon-to-be father-in-law.

“This day shines upon all of Asgard with favor,” Odin began, “As we welcome our son home safely. A merging of two worlds sees its completion this day as we all bear witness to the joining of Loki Odinson of Asgard and Darcy Lewis of Midgard...”

Odin's words passed over Darcy for the most part unheard – all she focused on was Loki's hand in her own. They occasionally squeezed one another's fingers softly for reassurance, and before she knew it Frigga soon took Odin's place, officiating the latter half of the ceremony.

“I said these words once to Lady Darcy and I will repeat them again to you both this day: You must take your love one day at a time. You have your day-to-day lives. Your duties to your kingdom, your duties to one another, you will have your duties to your children and your duties to yourselves. You must both be strong but not forceful, clever but not petty, and sympathetic but not irresolute. Go to bed angry and you will find that your disputes shall have resolved themselves by the morning. But above all things you must never lose sight of why you chose one another, for it shall be the light that guides you in your darkest hour,” said Frigga, and she turned to Darcy. “Darcy Lewis of Midgard, do you swear to love Loki Odinson of Asgard through the rain and shine, through fair weather as well as foul, in sickness and in health?”

“I swear,” said Darcy.

“And Loki Odinson of Asgard, do you swear to love Darcy Lewis of Midgard through fire and ice, through tribulations and celebrations alike, in sickness and in health?”

“I swear,” said Loki.

“Idun, if you deem these two worthy of one another, please bestow your blessing. The apple please,” said Frigga. The golden woman stepped forward and held the open box containing the golden apple toward Darcy, who took it and held it up between herself and Loki.

“And now the couple shall take a bite from the apple, sealing their bond to one another,” Frigga announced.

Loki and Darcy locked eyes over the golden apple and, without looking down at the enchanted fruit, the couple took their bites from either side of the apple at the same time, sealing their marriage. The hall erupted in deafening cheers.

Darcy mentally braced for the onset of immortality but it did not come immediately. When she was done chewing and swallowing, she was filled with a golden warmth that shot through her pleasantly in a span of mere seconds. Loki watched her carefully to make sure Darcy felt well and when he was finally certain that she would be fine, Loki and Darcy and kissed. The cheering crowd erupted again. The couple turned to the crowd and, hand-in-hand, took their first steps as husband and wife back down the aisle.

The noise of the crowd faded as Loki guided Darcy out of the Hall of Ceremonies and out onto a balcony that overlooked Asgard's gardens. The precious moments of solitude were short-lived but relished by both, and they held hands, pressing their foreheads together, feeling the cool of the evening setting in.

“My wife,” said Loki, and when Darcy looked up at him his face looked young, so young. She smiled.

“My husband,” she replied, and they held one another. “I am so tired I could drop right now.”

“Not yet, love,” Loki said, “I know it has been a long day- a long journey, for you, really- but we have a feast to attend, and then dancing, and then I whisk you away to our marital bed.”

“Well, I suppose I can stay awake for all that,” Darcy said, and they kissed one another deeply.

That night neither of them slept at all despite their exhaustion, and neither of them cared.

Asgard had never seen a happier time. A new princess, the wayward prince returned home, Odin and Frigga, alive and in love as ever, ruling with wisdom and peace, the golden prince reunited with his lady love, an alliance had been negotiated with SHIELD and moreover Midgard itself, and the villainous Enchantress was locked away in a cell deep within Asgard's prison.

A scant couple of days after Loki and Darcy's wedding, the royal family, the Avengers, the SHIELD employees, Sif, and the warriors-three all traveled to Alfheim together so that Odin, Frigga, and Loki could assist the elves in repairing the root system of the North Palace. They all made it just in time to save it from the first frost of Alfheim's winter, and with the unexpected aid of Odin they were able to repair the root system in a matter of days.

When Thor and Loki approached their parents hand-in-hand with their respective significant others, Odin and Frigga were not surprised at all when the princes revealed that they would like to go to Midgard to take up residency for the time-being. While all of Asgard was sad to see its princes go, the Midgardians were happy to be heading home and Thor and Loki were happy to go where Jane and Darcy went.

The Avengers, Jane, Phil Coulson, Nick Fury, Loki, and Darcy headed to Heimdall's post together. One by one they stepped through the portal back to Midgard.

When they were the last two left on the Rainbow Bridge with Heimdall, Loki and Darcy clasped hands and walked side-by-side through the Bifrost that they had helped to build, and without a glance back, stepped through together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading. I know the updates have been few and far between, but I so enjoy every time I see that a new person has put their faith in me and 'favorited' or followed'.
> 
> I am working on original fiction now, and I've had to put my fanfiction on the back burner. My love of Darcy, Loki, and the Asgardians is still going strong, though. If you are so inclined, please follow me on Tumblr, where I'm much more active. My username is JessiokaFroka.


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